


Some Place I'd Like to Go

by jumpsoap



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Prophecy, M/M, Phone Sex, Rapid Burn Sex, Sexual Content, Slow Burn Romance, Texting, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Wrong number
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-02-02 02:54:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12718197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jumpsoap/pseuds/jumpsoap
Summary: Sometimes a relationship is two friends who have to get married for the sake of their countries. Sometimes it’s two strangers exchanging dick pics out of boredom.





	1. Chapter 1

 

_(art by[FlyKiwiFlyAway](https://flykiwifly.tumblr.com/post/167469319368/cover-for-some-place-id-like-to-go-by))_

 

*****

 

When Ignis stepped into the Hammerhead convenience store, he had to look around for a moment to find an attendant. A blonde woman in a jumpsuit stood near the counter, while a young man, also blond, stocked the shelves.   

“Good day,” he said. The man looked up, setting the basket of items he was holding down with a clatter, and hurried behind the counter, typing something into the cash register when he reached it.

“Howdy,” said the woman, turning to lean against the counter. “What can we do you for?”

Ignis lifted a can of Ebony coffee from a shelf as he passed and set it down on the counter. “This coffee,” he said, “And I was hoping one of you might give me some tips about the area.”

“Prom’s good for that,” the woman said, tapping the elbow of the man, who had picked up and scanned the can of coffee.

He gave her a startled look and she nudged him again.

“I’ll try,” the man said, shrugging and smiling apologetically at Ignis. He had a boyish face, densely freckled with a pointed nose, but he must have been at least Noctis's age, the years showing in the set of his jaw and a hint of wear around the corners of his eyes and mouth. “Are you looking for something?”

“A fishing spot. Do you know of any nearby?”

“There’s Galdin Quay, right?” He looked at the woman for confirmation, who nodded. “It’s a few miles east. This is twenty gil, by the way.” He pushed the can of coffee across the counter.

“I’m on my way back to Insomnia.” Ignis watched the man’s face for a reaction while he handed over two of the little gold coins they used as currency out here. Some people in the purlieus had a bad opinion of the city, Ignis knew, but all he saw was a flicker of interest in the man’s blue eyes as he dropped the coins into the cash register. “Do you know of anything in that direction?”

“Oh. Um. Maybe.” He pulled a phone out of his pocket and started searching for something. “Yeah I think— it’s called something like…” He turned so that he was facing away from the counter, and Ignis could lean in to see the screen in his hand. “Crestholm. Would that work?”

Ignis thought about it. The fishing spot would be somewhat out of their way, but the man was looking at him hopefully. “That looks perfect.” He reached for his own phone to take note of it, but realized the pocket he kept it in was empty. “Ah, I seem to have left my phone in the car.”

“I’ll write it down for you,” the man said, moving to reach under the counter. “Or, um, I could just text it to you?”

“Alright,” Ignis replied. It was an efficient solution, he thought as he dictated his phone number to the clerk and watched him send a screen capture of the driving directions. “Thank you very much.”

“Sure,” the man said, pushing hair out of his face and pocketing his phone. “Happy fishing.”

“Y’all come back now,” the woman, who had been observing their exchange, called pleasantly as Ignis turned to go.

He nodded to the pair and left the store, scanning by the gas pumps for the Regalia, the king’s own car, which they had been entrusted with for this excursion. The purpose of the two-day trip was meant to be for the Lucian prince to inspect the magical protections that were going into the structure of a fort out here in one of the many territories under the protection of the government. It wasn’t a job that strictly required a royal touch, but the Lucian council had suggested that Noctis should be taking a more active role in the workings of the government and military, so here they were.

Noctis, for his part, had surprised Ignis by seeming almost enthusiastic about the trip. His unusual behavior made more sense once it became clear that he was treating it as more of a vacation than an official duty. He’d spent more time at the fort playing cards with the glaive members than doing any inspections.

The inspection had turned out to be a trivially simple task. Considering the longtime relative peace of the region, they had been permitted to come without even the protection of Noctis’s Shield, just prince and retainer. When they arrived, the combat mages of the Kingsglaive who were stationed there had already established a strong connection to the crystal that energized Lucis’s defenses, evident in the blue light that rippled across the stones and girders of the nearly complete structure.

The prince had moved the Regalia to a parking spot beside the town’s closed diner after refueling, and was now sitting on the trunk, looking more like a housecat lounging in the midday sun than a future king.

“You look happy,” Noctis remarked, raising an eyebrow. His gaze fell to the can of coffee in Ignis’s hand. “Oh, that’s why. They have Ebony out here?”

Ignis glanced at his own hand, having forgotten what he was carrying. “Indeed.”

“Couldn’t resist, huh?”

“It’s impolite to enter a store without making a purchase,” Ignis responded as he circled to the driver’s door.

“Did you get some good tips?” Noctis asked, sliding into the car, ignoring the attempted lesson in proper conduct.

Ignis picked up his phone from the cup holder and saw that there was a new multimedia message from an unknown number. “I did. It’s not exactly on the way back, but we have time.”

 

*****

 

The excursion into Leide would turn out to be the last restful period in their lives for some time; when they returned to Insomnia, they returned to a Citadel of frantic activity that bordered on riotous.

“What’s going on?” Ignis asked the first member of the Crownsguard he was able to catch after parking the Regalia underneath the palace. He’d dropped Noctis at the Amicitia residence, home of his Shield and friend, to store the spoils of their fishing trip and change his clothes while Ignis went by the Citadel to swap cars and pick up any memos waiting for them.

“Where’ve you been?” the guard demanded. “The oracle is going to be here tonight. Security is a mess.”

“This is the first I’m hearing of that,” Ignis said, forgiving her sharp tone. “I’m just back from escorting His Highness on his visit to the new fort in Leide.”

“Oh— well.” The guard brushed hair out of her face. “It was kind of a last minute announcement. I guess it was either this rush or dealing with a bunch of paparazzi and fans, you know?”

“Indeed,” Ignis said, already preparing something to say to the prince about all this. He couldn’t imagine that even Noctis had been left in the dark about this news, which meant he had decided not to pass the information along to Ignis.

“So where is His Highness?” the woman asked.

“He's with his shield,” Ignis evaded, finally locking up the Regalia and starting off to find Noctis's personal car.

“His Majesty has been asking for him.”

“Yes, well, I'll be sure to let him know,” Ignis said as he found Noctis’s Audi and climbed inside, closing the door before the guard could extract any promises from him.

He dialed Noctis as soon as he was exiting the parking garage.

“Problem, Specs?” Noctis answered.

“Did you know about this?” Ignis asked as mildly as he could.

“No idea what you mean.”

“Let me rephrase. Did you have me escort you out of the city this past weekend so that you wouldn't have to be involved in preparations for the oracle’s arrival?”

“Don't you think that's kinda beyond me?”

“No, I do not. We're speaking about this when I pick you up. I’m on my way now.”

“But I was gonna train with Gladio and Iris,” Noctis whined.

“Train at what, exactly?”

Noctis did not answer, so Ignis ended the call. Undoubtedly Noctis wouldn't want to waste time he could be gaming with the Amicitias.

Noctis wasn't a bad kid. Well, he wasn't a kid at all, at this point. But he still acted childish, an artifact of so many aspects of his life being truly outside of his control, Ignis supposed. It was a shame, but he would have to accept the way his life would be if he was ever going to ascend to the throne.

Arriving at the Amicitia estate, Ignis sent Noctis a brief message. Thankfully, Noctis replied not long after, and Ignis idled on the circular drive while he waited.

He saw Noctis approaching the car when his phone buzzed, alerting him to an incoming message from an unknown number.

 

>>Unknown (18:10): Upload [picture attached]

 

Ignis opened the picture without thinking and was able to take in quite a lot of bare, pale skin in the moment before Noctis opened the door and flopped into the car.

“Whatcha got?” The prince asked, the boredom in his voice betraying that he hadn’t really looked at the picture.

Ignis dropped the phone into his pocket. “An advertisement,” he said in his dryest voice. “Now come on, we need to go clean up if Lady Lunafreya truly is coming to the Citadel.”

“She’s not gonna see my apartment, Iggy,” Noctis groaned.

“I wouldn’t know what she is planning to see or not,” Ignis said. “Since I was not even informed she would be coming to Insomnia.” When Noctis didn’t have any comeback to this, Ignis glanced over at him. “Were you instructed to keep this a secret?”

“Yeah... my dad said they didn’t want too many people knowing. I guess Luna’s gotten some, like, threats or something recently.”

“Is that so?”

“And I, uh. I guess I kind of just wanted to not think about any of this.”

“About what? I’d have thought you would be looking forward to seeing Lunafreya again. Are you worried about her?”

“Oh. I guess that part’s still kind of a secret, then.”

“Which part?”

Noctis pulled his knees up to his chest, shoes scuffing the leather interior of his car. “My dad said. Um. We’ve gotta get married.”

Ignis made sure to focus on the road for a moment while he processed this. “You and Lady Lunafreya?” He asked.

Noctis snorted. “No, you and me, Iggy. Yeah. Me and Luna. I guess since the Niffs are all up around Tenebrae, my dad and the Queen want to kind of merge kingdoms. Make a united front.”

“That’s going to be quite a process, with the Empire already threatening.” It was going to be a nightmare. The kingdom of Tenebrae had its government more consolidated in the monarchy, but the Lucian Council was going to throw a fit when it came to light that the king had orchestrated such a significant shift in secret.

Noctis sighed.

Ignis adjusted his glasses. “If you’d told me it was going to be your bachelor party, I would have put more effort into our little trip.”

“I just didn’t want to think about it,” Noctis repeated. There was something unspoken there, too: _I didn’t want you to worry_. Ignis had grown up at Noctis’s side; as much as the prince acted at being a brat, he did have a kind nature.

“Well, it’s time to start thinking about it,” Ignis said, parking at Noctis’s apartment complex. As they started inside, he took out his notebook and began writing reminders. “I’ll need to speak with the Citadel staff, make sure we’re all on the same page. Yes, I know they might not know about the engagement yet. I’ll need to find out when the official announcement will be made… For now, we’ll just take care of this place, and go by your rooms at the Citadel afterward to make sure everything is in its place there. We can eat there, as well.”

“Waste of time,” Noctis was muttering.

“An important precaution,” Ignis insisted, tucking his book away and striding to the sink to scrub the few dishes Noctis had managed to leave cluttered there since the last time Ignis had been here. “Or would you rather _come clean_ to her about your living habits?”

Noctis grimaced, though the reaction could have been to the pun as much as the task before him. Still, when he slunk over to the living area Ignis heard the sounds of half-hearted tidying.

Ignis slowed in his dishwashing to look over his shoulder at the prince, straightening a stack of comic books on a shelf. The king had always instructed Ignis to be gentle with his son, to let him live out his adolescence as though he weren’t heir to the kingdom. Now the king had decided that Noctis’s adolescence was done with, it seemed.

“Have you written to Lunafreya recently?” Ignis joined Noctis in his room once he was done in the kitchen. Noctis was shaking out his comforter, and they both watched it settle smoothly onto the bed.

“She sent a note when she left Tenebrae.”

“She knows about the engagement already, I presume?”

“She knows everything,” Noctis said, sitting down. “She always does. Her mom tells her things.”

Ignis wasn’t sure what to say, or do. “Let’s head to the Citadel.”

“Can we not?” Noctis asked.

Ignis frowned.

“Later,” Noctis promised. “Let’s just eat here, okay?”

“Alright. What would you like?”

“Whatever.” He laid back on the bed, eyes shut. “Just wake me up when it’s done.”

Well, that was that, then. Ignis retreated from the bedroom to the kitchen to search for ingredients. There were cockatrice thighs in the freezer and eggs in the fridge, onions in the pantry, so it would be oyakodon tonight. Lighter on fresh ingredients than was ideal, but Noctis could probably use the protein.

It was only after he’d set the cockatrice in water to defrost and washed the rice that Ignis remembered the picture message he’d received while in the car. The setting sun flashed off a large mirror on the wall, and Ignis nearly fumbled the knife he’d been honing at the sudden memory.

He glanced at the shut bedroom door. Noctis was asleep, or sulking. He had a moment to himself. Ignis pulled out his phone and turned on the screen. The picture was still up. Leaning forward, elbows on the counter, he examined it: a self-portrait taken in a full-length mirror.

The man in the picture was slim and pale and completely naked save for a single terry cloth wristband. Ignis zoomed in and made out freckles along his arms and shoulders, the silhouette of a sleeveless shirt visible in tan lines. He was leaning back slightly, revealing the shapely definition of musculature in his abdomen and chest.

His left hand covered his genitals, cupped against his body, while the other hand held the camera in front of his face. His blond hair was gelled up into tall spikes, and when Ignis scrolled lower on the enlarged picture he saw from the hair not covered by the man’s left hand that he was a natural blond.

Despite the altered hairstyle and covered face, Ignis had a feeling he recognized this man, and when he closed the picture to look at his text message history, his suspicion was confirmed. He had one earlier picture message from the same number, a screenshot of driving directions to Crestholm Reservoir.

On the stove, the rice began to bubble, so Ignis put away his phone and tried to put away thoughts of the man from Hammerhead as well. He chopped onions, sliced chicken, beat eggs, and went through the motions of cooking, but it all seemed a little surreal. By the time he was calling to Noctis and setting the table, he was still dwelling on why of all things he had received a nude photograph from someone he had spoken approximately ten words to.

Noctis had dragged himself out of bed, hair a mess, to sit at the table, and they ate in silence as the sky darkened outside.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Noctis said, setting his chopsticks down.

“For what?” Ignis asked, caught off guard.

Noctis squinted at him. “For not telling you about Luna?” He said, apparently guessing at what he was meant to be apologizing for.

“Oh, Noct, I’m not… You don’t have to apologize to me.” Had he thought Ignis was angry at him?

“Should have told you,” Noctis said, picking the utensils back up to push the food around on his plate.

“Perhaps.” Ignis felt guilty for daydreaming while Noctis was clearly having trouble coming to terms with his impending engagement. “But it’s a personal matter, I see now. I’m here to help you. I defer to your discretion, and the discretion of the king and council as far as what I need to know is concerned.”

Noctis pushed his hair, which was now crinkled with mussed product, out of his eyes. “Personal matter,” he echoed. “I don’t think I get a personal life anymore, Iggy.”

Ignis drummed his fingers on his knee. “You are a public figure,” he admitted. “But if there are ever details of your life that you want to be kept private, please remember that I am here to advise you, both as your retainer and as your friend.”

“Advise me on what?” Noctis asked, shifting in his chair.

“Specifically, I thought you might like to discuss any hesitation you might have concerning entering into a political marriage. I would understand if you had other prospects you’d been hoping to pursue, for instance.”

“What?” Noctis’s typically pale face reddened rapidly. “No! Like— other people? You know everyone I know. You know there’s nobody I like like that.”

“I see. Well, just know that I am here to talk if that changes.”

Noctis stared down at his food for a moment. “Wait, are you offering to help me _cheat_ on _Luna_?”

Ignis had not necessarily meant to imply that, but if that was where Noctis’s mind had gone… “I’m sure something could be arranged that wouldn’t require anything immoral to take place,” he said. “I don't know Lady Lunafreya, but by all accounts she is a kind and worldly person. She is also in the same position as you, and may have her own concerns. You might want to take some time to have a conversation with her about this before your wedding. Your marriage is supposed to be something that helps you both, not a punishment. It need not have the same rules or structure as other marriages, as long as you are able to present a unified front to your people.”

Noctis scrubbed a hand through his hair, thoughtful.

“But if it came to that, I would keep any secret for you, Noctis. Anything you asked of me.”

“Oh… Okay. Um. Thanks.” Noctis seemed more disturbed than gratified by this declaration of loyalty, but that was fine. It needed to be said.

They both bent over their meals, the silence still awkward but in a different way; like it was a little easier to breathe. At least Noctis ate most of his food, Ignis noted as they cleaned up their plates together.

Once they were in the car again, Noctis leaned against the window, eyes closed. He had seemed fine in the prior days, even just hours ago when they had returned to Insomnia. Ignis didn’t press him to talk more.

 _You know everyone I know_ , he had said, and that was true, Ignis supposed. Noctis had had a whole life apart from the Citadel and, consequently, from Ignis, when he was an adolescent— he had gone to state school and held part-time jobs while Ignis had tested out of mandatory tuition early on in favor of learning by doing— but Ignis had never heard even peripherally of the prince developing anything like a friendship or a liking for any of his schoolmates or coworkers. He certainly never heard mention of even one of them these days.

Noctis now spent most of his time working with lesser nobles and politicians, attending ceremonies or events that were below his father but couldn’t be ignored. He trained with the Kingsglaive and the Crownsguard often, and spent his downtime either with some combination of Gladio, Iris, and Ignis or in solitude.

Once, a month or so ago, laying on the couch in his apartment, Noctis had asked Ignis, “What do you do when you’re not here?” as though it was the first time the thought had crossed his mind.

Ignis had asked him if he meant to ask what other work he did, at the Citadel.

Noctis had seemed restless. “No, like… Don’t you have friends or something?”

Ignis hadn’t thought to be insulted at the time. He’d been as surprised at the realization as Noctis seemed to have been. “I have you lot,” he’d said, referring to Noctis and the Amicitias. “That’s quite enough for one person.”

So maybe it would be a boon for Noctis to have a marriage arranged for him. Certainly, neither he nor Ignis had the time or energy to seek out a romantic connection on their own.

 

*****

 

When they arrived at the Citadel once more, there was something of a hubbub around the gate, a line of cars waiting to enter while people stood around, corralled by Crownsguard officers.

Noctis was sitting up, now. “What’s going on?” He asked, rubbing at his eye.

“Must be the new security measures.” When they reached the checkpoint, Ignis rolled down his window. “Has our guest arrived?”

The guard there smiled grimly at Ignis’s vague wording. “Just got in, I hear,” he said. He waved them through without making them stop to have their car searched.

Inside the walls the Citadel was much calmer, almost eerily so after the racket outside. The guards stationed along the entrances looked tired, so Ignis didn’t stop to chat with them.

“Shouldn’t we check in with Dad?” Noctis asked.

“After we go by your rooms,” Ignis said, sizing him up to determine if he was just trying to get out of cleaning or if he was making a genuine suggestion. Noctis sighed, so Ignis decided on the former.

When they approached the prince’s quarters, however, they heard voices from the hall.

“That’s Luna,” Noctis hissed to Ignis, stopping him before they turned the corner.

“Well, come on, then,” Ignis told him, taking his elbow to urge him forward. Noctis followed reluctantly, and they went forward to face his fiancée.

She was standing near the entrance to Noctis’s quarters with a pair of uniformed glaives, laughing. Ignis had never before had occasion to meet Lunafreya, and his first thought was that she seemed a little shorter in person than he had imagined. Of course, in photographs she was typically standing at a pulpit above a crowd or leaning over an infirm person in need of healing.

The glaives turned serious when they noticed the prince, standing to attention and saluting. Luna’s smile didn’t falter, however.

“Noctis,” she said, stepping toward them and bowing. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Uh, hi,” Noctis said, once Ignis had given him a solid pat on the shoulder. “Yeah, totally.”

“And you must be Ignis,” she said, turning to him and taking his hand. “I’ve heard so many good things.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Ignis said, charmed.

“His Majesty’s kind soldiers promised on the trip here they would take me on a tour of the Citadel once we had arrived,” she confided, nodding to the other two. “I understand you are quite familiar with them.”

“Nyx, Crowe, at ease,” Noctis said, eyes narrowing. “So what is it that you’ve been showing her, anyway?”

“We’ve seen the kitchens and the training yard,” Luna said, seemingly guileless. “And I believe I’m supposed to think we’re just about to see a storage closet, isn’t that right?”

The two soldiers seemed surprised that Luna was wise to their trick, but not particularly guilty.

“Real kind of them to show you my private rooms,” Noctis said. “What did you think you were gonna find?”

“Maybe I just wanted to see if you left any good reading material lying around for the oracle to find,” Nyx said.

Noctis crossed his arms. “What, like my comics? It’s not like Luna doesn’t already know I’m a big nerd.” Either it hadn’t crossed Noctis’s mind that Nyx was attempting to imply something obscene, or he had a quicker wit than Ignis had thought.

Crowe snorted loudly. “Well, we just thought we’d do you the favor of dropping the lovely oracle off where you could see her,” she said, recovering quickly.

“Nyx is just trying to get back at me for kicking his ass in training last week,” Noctis said.

“Perhaps you’d like to postpone your tour of this particular area, Your Highness,” Ignis offered Lunafreya, “And accompany us to greet the king, instead?”

“I think that sounds lovely,” she answered.

Ignis was proud to see Noctis offer her his arm properly; he was able to put up a front of etiquette very well when required, these days. The couple-to-be led the way to the throne room.

Ignis glanced at Nyx, who winked at him. It was good to know that Noctis— and Luna, for that matter— could get along well enough with the Kingsglaive, who were certain to become an increasingly important fixture for them in the years to come.

There followed a slew of decidedly more formal introductions and briefings concerning the oracle’s stay with them. At one point, while Noctis and Luna were busy being harangued by the captain marshall of the Crownsguard about what was to be expected of them, for their own safety of course, Ignis was summoned to the king’s side for a private word.

“Ignis, I’m afraid I’ve had to keep something from you, but I wanted to tell you this in private before the announcement tomorrow,” the king said quietly.

“I’ve been told of the engagement,” Ignis admitted. “Just this afternoon.”

“Oh,” the king said, seeming relieved. “You understand, of course. We didn’t want this getting out. We trust you, but…”

“A secret is harder to keep the more people know of it, I understand,” Ignis assured him, wondering briefly why both Regis and Noctis had been so convinced he would react badly to this news.

As the evening grew late, it became clear that the entire guard and staff, and the king, were working with the presumption that Noctis would be spending the night— and all foreseeable nights— in the Citadel, much to the prince’s chagrin. He sent a pleading look at Ignis when he was dismissed to his quarters, but an escort was already approaching, and there was nothing Ignis could do but give him a sympathetic grimace in response and make a mental note to find out what he wanted retrieved from his apartment later on.

Ignis, at least, was able to slip away from the Citadel as the meetings wound down, into the warm city night. Trains were still running at this hour, so Ignis felt no need to deprive Noctis of his car. He walked to the station, instead. The area right around the government buildings had become nearly deserted by now, but as he reached the train station he passed bars and restaurants, a park that was pleasantly lit with a modest group performing music in the clearing. People passed by in pairs or groups, some of them talking and laughing loudly, some of them clinging to each other intimately.

When Ignis reached his apartment, he immediately took out his phone to look at the picture he’d received from the man in Hammerhead. He hadn’t been able to get it out of his head all evening, and looking at it again sent another jolt of surprise and curiosity through him.

He took off his glasses and rubbed his temple, leaning against the door and setting his phone down on the small entryway table beside his keys. If it truly was a mistake, then the merciful thing to do would be to ignore it, right? It just seemed outrageous that anyone would actually send such a picture by mistake.

He was clearly meant to believe that the man had been attempting to upload the picture to some server by text message. Ignis thought of himself as fairly tech-savvy, but he wasn’t confident enough to declare the idea absolutely impossible.

Replacing his glasses, he picked up the phone again. If it was a mistake, it was only polite to inform the man before anything else could be sent. At worst, he would never respond.

 

>>Ignis (23:55): I believe you have the wrong number.

 

He set down his phone and poured himself a glass of wine from an opened bottle in his fridge. His heart was beating slightly fast as he held the bowl of the glass in the palm of his hand, swirling the wine to take the chill off, the vision of the man's body lingering in his mind's eye.

On the armrest of the chair, his phone vibrated, and he strode over to pick it up.

 

>>Unknown (23:59): Who is this???

 

Ignis schooled his face into a neutral expression and took a picture of himself with his phone.

 

>>Ignis (00:01): We met while I was passing through Hammerhead. [picture attached]

>>Unknown (00:03): Omgggg I’m soooo sorry

>>Unknown (00:03): You can just delete that I’m really sorry!!!!

>>Ignis (00:04): An honest mistake, I’m sure.

>>Unknown (00:05): Hahaha yeah I promise I don’t just send nudes to strangers!

>>Unknown (00:05): Or anyone really

>>Unknown (00:06): I was trying to upload to my private kupo account… the app is down

>>Ignis (00:08): I’m afraid I don’t quite remember your name. Prom?

>>Unknown (00:09): Yeah Prompto!! Wow good memory

>>Ignis (00:09): Perhaps you should save my number as a contact. My name is Ignis.

>>Unknown (00:11): Yeah OK! Just so I won’t accidentally text you again lol

>>Ignis (00:12): Yes, I hope you will only text me on purpose from now on.

 

Ignis waited, but no response came to this last statement. Well, it had been an amusing distraction from a long day, even if nothing came of it. It was late, anyway, and there would surely be more long days to come, he thought, finishing his wine before getting ready for bed.

 

*****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy here we go!! I hope you're enjoying so far!
> 
> I've got a lot of people to thank for their help and support. This was the first fic of any significant length I've seriously attempted, let alone completed, and I really needed the help, let me tell you!
> 
> First I want to thank Besin for putting together this Big Bang, I think they did a really great job organizing everything and they also always have the best Promnis ideas.
> 
> Thanks to my beta readers Jamison (pryumpto/grumpinni) and Michelle who were very patient with me despite my hand-wringing about everything I could think of. Their encouragement, kindness, and the effort they put into helping meant a whole lot to me.
> 
> Thank you Kiwi (flykiwiflyaway) for the beautiful cover art and for just being a lovely person in general!
> 
> A ton of people also helped me with their kind words, including my cheerleader cerozell and everyone who did word wars with me and listened to me whine about the time stamps on these text messages.
> 
> Finally, I'd like to thank the nice cashier at a pharmacy in north Georgia who texted me directions to a hiking trail like a year ago and inspired this story.


	2. Chapter 2

When Ignis woke up the next morning, he had several messages on his phone.

 

Noctis (00:45): Iggyyyyyyyyyy

Noctis (00:45): I wanna go home!!!

Noctis (00:46): Bring me my Xbox? :(

 

And

 

Unknown (1:20): I

Unknown (1:28): Ignis, I want to emphasize again how pleased I am to make your acquaintance. Noctis provided me with your cell phone number and told me that it would be expedient to give you my number this way. This is the first cell phone I have had and I hope I have sent this message correctly! xxxLuna

 

Well, that was nice. Nothing from Prompto, though, and Ignis felt a bit silly for being disappointed by that when he had a personal message from the oracle right here. He responded to the messages from Noctis and Lunafreya, and before he could completely come out of the haze of sleep, he sent another one to Prompto.

 

>>Ignis (5:38): I do want to thank you again for the fishing spot tip.

 

To his surprise, a response came from the man not long after, while he was still getting dressed.

 

>>Prompto(5:46): No problem :)

 

 _Already up at this hour_? Ignis mused. But he restrained himself from sending anything to that effect. He didn’t want Prompto to think he was trying to pry. He still wasn’t sure what to think of Prompto’s explanation of his picture.

It wasn’t until quite late in the day that he received any other word from Prompto.

 

>>Prompto (22:01): Hi Ignis! I was on a hike this morning and I met a guy selling fishing gear at some lake in the middle of freaking nowhere!! He had a ton of lures and string and stuff

>>Prompto (22:02): I bought this one bc it was cute. He said it’s good for trevally, do you think that’s true? [picture attached]

 

It was a picture of what might have been Prompto’s desk at home, a black surface with the edge of a keyboard and a can of energy drink visible. In the middle of the shot was a feathered lure, bright yellow like a chocobo, with a thin hook peeking out of its plumage.

 

>>Ignis (22:08): I have something to confess.

>>Prompto (22:08): ?

>>Ignis (22:09): I don’t know a thing about fishing. I’ve never done it myself.

>>Prompto (22:10): Whaaat no way

>>Ignis (22:10): It’s reely true.

>>Prompto (22:10): >_>

>>Ignis (22:11): That day in Hammerhead, I was traveling with a friend. It was at his request that I asked about fishing spots.

>>Prompto (22:12): Ooh

>>Ignis (22:13): I must say I don’t think I'll ever understand his enthusiasm for fishing. It seems terribly unstimulating and rather messy. I’m perfectly content to buy my fish from a grocer.

>>Prompto (22:16): What, you don’t like getting dirty?

 

Ignis paused for a long moment, considering the message. There had to be some innuendo there, some charming and flirtatious response he could give, but his usual quick wit disappointed him. Prompto, clearly not shy of sending multiple messages in a row, had already moved on.

 

>>Prompto (22:17): That’s so weird I totally thought you loved fishing xD

>>Prompto (22:17): So what do you like to do for fun? Any hobbies? Special skills? :o

>>Ignis (22:19): I suppose I spend a good portion of my time cooking. I’ve been told I’m better than average at it.

>>Ignis (22:20): But that feels a bit too close to my work to call a hobby.

>>Prompto (22:22): Oh?? What kind of work do you do? Are you a chef?

>>Ignis (22:23): I work as a personal assistant.

>>Prompto (22:24): And you cook? @_@

>>Ignis (22:25): I perform a great many tasks for my charge, including preparing food.

>>Prompto (22:27): Oh like stuff they can’t do on their own?

>>Ignis (22:28): He is not disabled in any way that I know, simply very wealthy.

>>Prompto (22:29): Omg… lol

>>Prompto (22:29): That sounds kinda rough

>>Ignis (22:31): I enjoy my work, although it doesn’t leave me much time for extracurriculars. What you do for fun?

>>Prompto (22:32): Ummm a lot!

>>Prompto (22:32): I like video games

>>Prompto (22:33): And taking photos!!

>>Ignis (22:35): I’ve noticed.

>>Prompto (22:35): ?

>>Prompto (22:35): Aaaah you’re teasing me Dx

>>Ignis (22:36): Apologies.

>>Prompto (22:36): It’s OK I deserve it

>>Prompto (22:37): I also work out a lot

>>Prompto (22:37): That pic was actually my progress shot from last week

>>Prompto (22:37): I take a pic every week

>>Ignis (22:39): That’s very sensible. Your efforts seem to be well spent. You look good.

>>Ignis (22:41): I hope that’s not too intrusive. I couldn’t help looking.

>>Prompto (22:43): Thanks

>>Prompto (22:43): It’s not intrusive

 

Ignis tried to go back to his work, but he kept glancing at his phone. As soon as the notification light came on, he picked it up again.

 

>>Prompto (22:52): It’s really nice of you to say that

>>Prompto (22:53): But yeah I like photography

>>Prompto (22:53): Scenic shots and stuff

>>Ignis (22:54): There must be a wealth of material to photograph near Hammerhead.

>>Prompto (22:55): There’s a wealth of ROCKS

>>Ignis (22:57): Come now, I’m sure you make do. You’ll have to show me your work some day.

>>Prompto (22:58): I think you’ve seen enough!! Lol

>>Prompto (22:59): Anyway I’m probably bothering you, I’ll let you get back to doing that guy’s laundry or whatever :P ttyl

 

Ignis frowned, but put away his phone after typing a quick good-bye. Had he misstepped? It had given him a thrill, referencing the nude photo in such a bold way, but if Prompto truly regretted sending it, then bringing it up again must have seemed cruel at best, predatory at worst.

He tried to turn his attention back to flipping through the folders of papers, but had difficulty focusing. He brought his phone out more than once, drafting several messages of apology, but didn’t end up sending anything.

Just as he was sliding the finished summaries into his briefcase and thinking about bed, his phone buzzed several times in succession.

 

>>Prompto (23:44): [image attached]

>>Prompto (23:44): [image attached]

>>Prompto (23:44): [image attached]

>>Prompto (23:46): You asked for it, so here’s some of my shots...

>>Prompto (23:46): They look really bad with the compression x_x

 

Ignis enlarged the pictures one by one. They were clearly taken with a high-grade camera, not just a phone. Prompto had sent him three very different landscapes from around Leide: a view toward Insomnia at night, the haze of light pollution gradually giving way to a sky of stars; a small creek, the water white as it swirled over rocks, a few blurred, ghostly images of small birds on its banks; and the main street of Hammerhead at sunrise, the garage at its center framed by a halo of orange and pink light.

 

Ignis (23:54): These are lovely, Prompto.

Prompto (23:56): !!!!

Prompto (23:57): Thanks :)

Prompto (23:57): I thought you’d be asleep by now?

 

Ignis thought about telling Prompto about the long day he’d had, but didn’t want to get into all that. Instead, he sent a simpler message.

 

Ignis (00:00): I’m a bit of a night owl.

Prompto (00:02): An early bird too, unless you were texting me in your dreams this morning :P You better get to sleep!

Ignis (00:03): You as well.

Prompto (00:04): Good night!

 

*****

 

>>Prompto (17:59): Look how far I’ve come [picture attached]

Ignis saw the text while standing on a train back to the Citadel, a bag of groceries for Noctis’s quarters dangling from one wrist. He didn’t strictly need to bring groceries in from outside of the Citadel, but he enjoyed the chance to find new ingredients.

It was difficult at first to recognize that the picture Prompto sent was of himself as a child, ten years ago at least. The boy in the picture was chubby and bespectacled, but just as blond and blue-eyed as the Prompto of the present. He was holding a birthday cake and smiling brightly.

 

>>Ignis (18:22): You were a very cute child.

>>Prompto (18:23): Eughhh I guess this pic makes me look ok

>>Prompto (18:24): You’re nice

>>Prompto (18:25): I was such a weird loser

>>Ignis (18:27): You wore glasses. Do you use contacts now?

>>Prompto (18:28): Nope! I saved up and paid a buttload of money to a healer for a corrective

>>Ignis (18:29): Isn’t that a bit risky?

 

Ignis regretted sending that immediately; obviously, Prompto had done it and didn’t need Ignis’s input. He had arrived at his station, however, and had to put away his phone to disembark and exit to the street, so before he could follow up with any apology, Prompto had already sent multiple responses.

 

>>Prompto (18:30): Idk

>>Prompto (18:31): It worked really well though

>>Prompto (18:31): It’s probably gonna wear off in a few years but it’s worth it

>>Prompto (18:32): Contacts are way too expensive out here

>>Prompto (18:34): I gotta drive back to Hammerhead before it starts getting dark but it’s gonna be so boring >_<

>>Ignis (18:49): I’d be happy to call you to keep you company.

>>Prompto (18:51): Yeah OK! If you’re not too busy.

 

Ignis started to type a response, then realized he should just press on: he tapped on Prompto’s name and hit _Call_ before he could second-guess himself. His feet had carried him into the Citadel and a guard had already waved him inside by the time the phone began to ring.

He almost hit the cancel button. He was being too eager, wasn’t he? He should have waited for Prompto to initiate the call.

Too late, now. The phone rang twice, three times, and then Prompto answered. “Hello?”

It wasn’t the first time he had heard Prompto’s voice, of course, but it felt different to hear it projected directly into his ear from the small phone cradled in his hand.

Ignis cleared his throat, flustered. “I’m sorry, I just realized you might have wanted to get on the road first. I’d be happy to call again, later—”

“No, no!” Prompto interrupted. “It’s good. I was just being lazy. I really gotta get this car back before dark. Cid—he’s this crusty old guy who runs the garage—he’ll skin me if I let some daemon wreck it.”

Ignis heard a car start up. “You’re certain you’ll be able to make it home safely?” Ignis asked, unable to keep himself from nagging.

“Oh, yeah, it’s not even that far.” The roar of the engine faded to a low grumbling in the background, and Ignis imagined that Prompto was pulling onto the freeway. “So, what’s up?”

“I’ve got a rare night free, actually,” Ignis said, fudging the truth a bit. Now that he was here at the Citadel, he should really find Noctis and Luna and see if there was anything he could assist them with. He could tell Noctis had already done some damage to his living space, though, and he was perfectly able to clean while on the phone.

“Aw, what? You could be out doing something fun!” Prompto said, while Ignis picked up a discarded suit jacket of Noctis’s off the floor on his way to get to the kitchen.

“I was rather looking forward to exchanging messages with you, actually,” Ignis responded, gladly falling back into the persona he had been cultivating with Prompto: smooth, solicitous, desirable. “I’m afraid you’ll quickly find that I’m not exactly accustomed to ‘going out’ and ‘having fun.’”

Prompto laughed, which was a nice sound, but Ignis somewhat regretted his own self-deprecation when Prompto followed suit. “Yeah, I guess that’s obvious, if you were excited about talking to me.”

Ignis changed the subject. “So, what brought you away from Hammerhead? Taking pictures?”

“Uh… Not this time. I was visiting my parents. Actually, my foster parents.” There was some tension in his voice; perhaps he was nervous about Ignis’s reaction to this.

“How was that?” Ignis asked.

“Kinda weird. They called me up to see if I wanted to keep any of some old stuff of mine they still had, just some junk like that picture I showed you. I’m surprised they kept anything.”

“Was it anything you wanted to keep?”

“Probably not, but I took it, you know, to get it off their hands. They’re moving soon, so I wanted to stop by anyway.”

“That was good of you,” Ignis risked saying, not knowing anything about Prompto’s family situation. “Were they glad to see you?”

“Yeah, actually, I think they were. I think they’re doing pretty well now. They weren’t around all that much when I was growing up. They did a lot for me but they weren’t, like… parents, you know?”

“That doesn’t sound ideal.”

“Yeah… I get it now, and I’m really grateful to them of course. But I was kind of bitter about it for a while. I had this idea when I was younger that I could run away to Insomnia and join a gang or something.” Prompto laughed. “I don’t know why I thought that’d be cool. It’s weird to think about now. That’s why I started working out and stuff, though. I kind of wonder how much different I would have turned out if I’d actually done that.”

Ignis waited for Prompto to go on, but he seemed to have reached the end of his musings.

He laughed again. “Sorry, dude! You called me to be nice and I’m dumping all this on you.”

“It’s quite alright. I don’t mind listening to you.”

He heard Prompto cough. “Um… Cool. Anyway, what are you up to?”

“Oh,” Ignis said, caught off guard. He’d been thinking of his own family, trying to work out something to say about people he’d barely ever known in case Prompto asked. “I’m delivering some groceries to the… the man I work for,” he replied, feeling a twinge of guilt for lying by omission. “He won’t be home for some time.”

“I thought you said you had a night free,” Prompto said, sounding amused. At least, Ignis hoped he sounded amused. It was hard to tell over the phone with the sound of driving in the background.

“Ah… Well. After this I will,” Ignis said apologetically.

“You work a lot, huh?”

“I do,” Ignis admitted.

“But you like your job, right?” When Ignis agreed, Prompto continued, “That’s really cool. I don’t think I could do a job like that. I took in a dog for a couple weeks but it turned out to be somebody else’s dog. I can barely look after the convenience store nowadays.”

“Well, that seems like a steady job.”

“Yeah… I guess. My boss always says it’s not a career, though.”

“Any career plans, then?”

Prompto made such a displeased sound that Ignis was worried he’d come across some kind of wild beast or other hazard on the road. “Not thinkin’ about that right now,” he said.

They stuck to lighter topics for the remainder of the phone call: Ignis told Prompto about the construction projects Insomnia was undertaking on some of the roadways out of town, and he heard in return about a new video game Prompto was hoping to order by mail when it became available. Ignis mentioned that he had heard of it, without revealing that he had in fact seen Prince Noctis play the entirety of his advance copy in a single weekend.

He’d been able to tidy up the prince’s quarters in the meantime and put away the snacks and games Noctis had requested he deliver. He looked out the windows to see the sun setting over the city.

“It’s already getting dark. Are you nearly home?” he asked.

“Oh… Yeah, actually, I’ve been back for a few minutes now.”

Ignis realized he could no longer hear the background noise of tires on asphalt and dirt, and hadn’t heard it for some time. “I didn’t mean to keep you,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Prompto said, and Ignis’s heart leapt at the fond note in his voice. “Thanks for calling, it really helped me pay attention to the road. I’ll catch you later?”

“Certainly,” Ignis said, and stared at the screen of his phone after ending the call. It told him that they’d been talking for nearly an hour and a half.

 

*****

 

Ignis found himself looking forward more and more to new messages from Prompto; what had started out as a bit of escapism was starting to become something of a distraction. On the other hand, Noctis seemed be almost self-reliant at this point—or at least able to rely on Citadel staff aside from Ignis for some tasks—so Ignis only hesitated for a moment when he saw a new picture message on his phone to excuse himself from a long and boring meeting about the location of the upcoming wedding.

He locked himself in the bathroom and leaned back against the door, opening the message.

 

>>Prompto (15:28): We’re gonna go scavenge at the mines! [picture attached]

>>Prompto (15:30): Cindy says hi

 

The picture made Ignis’s stomach lurch, a swirl of emotions: Prompto was grinning, and Ignis could see the resemblance there between this young man and the happy birthday boy in the picture Prompto had sent him from his parents’ home. He was leaning into the frame with a woman who Ignis guessed must have been the same one who had been in the store that day they’d met at Hammerhead.

She was very pretty, and wearing a much different outfit than the practical jumpsuit he vaguely recalled from that day: tiny shorts, tall boots, a crop top. She looked just as happy to be there as Prompto, a confident smile on her face, her arm around his waist.

Ignis took note of the pistols on Prompto’s belt and the enormous machinery strapped to Cindy’s back.

 

>>Ignis (15:49): You two look very formidable.

>>Ignis (15:50): Do be careful out there.

>>Prompto (15:52): Yeah! We’re always careful, we haven’t gotten hurt yet

>>Prompto (15:53): Or maybe just lucky lol

>>Prompto (15:53): But thanks :)

>>Ignis (15:56): Is Cindy your sister?

>>Prompto (15:56): Omg xD

>>Prompto (15:56): No lolol

>>Prompto (15:57): I’m not gonna tell her you said that I think she’d be mad

>>Prompto (15:58): She’s like a million times cuter than me

>>Ignis (15:59): You seem close.

>>Prompto (16:02): Jealous, Ignis~?

>>Prompto (16:02): Jk

>>Ignis (16:03): Somewhat

>>Prompto (16:03): Obviously

>>Prompto (16:04): ?????

>>Ignis (16:05): I’m jealous.

>>Ignis (16:06): You look so happy with her. I’d like to make you smile like that.

>>Prompto (16:09): Really?

>>Ignis (16:10): Really. You have a lovely smile, Prompto.

>>Prompto (16:14): I took it for you

>>Prompto (16:14): The picture

>>Prompto (16:15): You do make me smile

>>Ignis (16:17): Do you mind if I save this picture?

 

Ignis covered his mouth with his hand, although no one was there to see the smile stretching his own lips. Prompto didn’t respond immediately, but Ignis was buoyed enough by the exchange not to worry. Prompto had most likely already put his phone away to get on with his business.

Which Ignis also needed to do, he realized, seeing that he’d spent over twenty minutes bent over his phone in the bathroom when he was meant to be in a meeting.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he slipped back into the conference room without turning any heads. Noctis seemed asleep at his father’s side; Luna, across the table, had a pleasantly neutral expression on her face that Ignis had recently come to understand signified that her mind had checked out to another plane of existence.

The meeting seemed to have spiraled into a discussion of what designer to commission for Lunafreya’s dress; one faction of the council was arguing that the work should be done in Insomnia to bring attention to the city’s growing fashion industry, while another countered that a royal wedding should fall back on the classically trained, tried and tested designers of Accordo.

Ignis made a show of checking his phone at the door, and then circled around to touch the shoulder of the council member presiding over the meeting.

“Pardon me, but I must borrow the prince and oracle,” he murmured. “A scheduling conflict has been brought to my attention that I lack the authority to resolve.”

The council member nodded, waving a dismissive hand, and Ignis quietly roused the royal couple and led them out of the room.

“What is it?” Noctis asked. “Did I miss something?”

“My apologies if you were invested in the outcome of that discussion,” Ignis said. “You both seemed as though you could use a break.”

The look Noctis gave him was pure gratitude, but he seemed a little guilty when he glanced over at Luna. “Sorry, Luna, I didn’t mean to get us kicked out.”

“It’s quite all right. I don’t believe the council is in need of our input at this time.” she said diplomatically.

“While they hash that out, is there anything you two would prefer to do?”

They ended up back at Noctis’s quarters, passing a bag of Cheesy Coeurls around the small table there, listening to Luna tell them about her travels on the way to Insomnia.

“Tenebrae was nightmarish,” she confided in them. “Imperial dropships landing on top of us every day, sometimes more.”

Noctis’s eyes were wide. “You fought them?”

“Oh, yes, my mercenaries and I. Once we got to the border with Lucis, I met up with your fighters, but by then they had stopped hounding us.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Ignis said. “We should have been able to protect you better.”

“The MT units the Empire sends are no great threat in such small numbers, but the emotional toll did become heavy.”

“You mean, like, from being chased?” Noctis asked.

“From killing,” Luna said, digging into the bag of chips and finding it empty. “Are there more? Your Kingsglaive mage had some of these with her on the road. I quite like them.”

“But MTs are just robots, right?” Noctis had his hand on the table.

She frowned, a crease appearing on her smooth brow. “They don’t scream like robots,” she told him, dusting bright orange powder from her fingertips.

Ignis took the empty bag from her. “Would you like to eat an early dinner here, Luna? You two are still free for another hour, I believe.”

Luna seemed surprised at the offer, but agreed.

“Any requests? We don’t have much to work with, so we would have to keep simple if we want to avoid bothering the kitchens for more ingredients.” Ignis looked at Noctis by reflex, but the prince was lost in thought. Luna shook her head, so Ignis suggested, “How about something sweet? Pancakes?”

Her eyes lit up for a brief moment, which didn't escape Ignis’s attention. He'd suspected she might have a sweet tooth. “If that's alright with you two,” she agreed demurely.

Noctis shrugged his assent, so Ignis moved to the kitchen and tied an apron around his waist.

“Can I help?” Luna had followed him in from the sitting area.

“There's no need,” he told her, and she seemed slightly relieved. “Go sit with Noctis, if you like. I won't be long.”

Unlike Noctis's apartment, his quarters at the Citadel had a much less modern design. The kitchen was walled off from the main sitting area, so Ignis was left alone once Luna had rounded the corner to return there. He heard the other two speaking, and not long after, the sound of a video game starting up.

He took out the ingredients for pancakes: eggs, flour, butter, and berries to coat in sugar. Waiting for them to begin macerating was enough of an excuse to check his phone, which he’d noticed vibrating while they’d been talking.

 

>>Prompto (17:45): Yeah of course!

>>Prompto (17:46): I mean go ahead and save it

>>Prompto (17:46): You can save any picture I send you lol it’s not like I can stop you

>>Prompto (17:47): But thanks for asking?

 

Ignis didn’t think too hard about his response. It was a little risky, but he opened up the small collection of saved pictures on his phone and attached one to his next message.

 

>>Ignis (18:01): Including this one? [picture attached]

 

There was no immediate response, so he set to making the batter for the pancakes. Just as the batter was done and the pan was warming up, his phone lit up on the counter.

 

>>Prompto (18:10): Omg Ignis!!!!!

>>Prompto (18:11): I’m still out with Cindy omg

>>Prompto (18:11): I thought you deleted that????

>>Ignis (18:14): I couldn’t quite bring myself to delete it.

>>Prompto (18:15): Dx you’re gonna blackmail me!

>>Ignis (18:16): Blackmail isn’t what I had in mind.

 

It wasn’t exactly the response he’d been hoping for, but it wasn’t a rejection. If Prompto wasn’t interested, he would just stop messaging, wouldn’t he? The man seemed to have plenty to do, and at least _one_ friend.

He did need to make the dinner, so he silenced his phone and put it away, just in time for Luna and Noctis to wander back.

“You’re not working, are you?” Noctis asked, watching Ignis’s phone disappear into his pocket.

“I am cooking your dinner,” Ignis pointed out. “But no. Just catching up on emails.”

“Ignis, it looks great,” Luna said, bouncing on her heels. Her mood seemed to be much improved. She came closer into the kitchen and looked at the bowl of berries. “What’s this?”

“Just some berries and syrup,” Ignis said, pouring batter into the hot pan. Luna and Noctis stayed with him in the kitchen while he made the food, which he found surprisingly pleasant. Noctis usually stayed clear of food preparation, either wary of being roped into helping or just eager for a chance to rest. Ignis suspected that his approach now was more to do with discomfort at being alone with Luna than particular desire for his company, though.

He watched them interact as he cooked, sliding pancakes three at a time onto a ready tray. He wasn’t yet sure if Noctis had some problem with his childhood friend, or if he was just feeling unusually introverted. Luna was interested in the cooking, if rather innocent of knowledge of the actual process. She asked questions about the ingredients and tools.

“Cast iron gets really hot, but nonstick is better for stuff like this,” Noctis answered a question of hers that Ignis hadn’t noticed while focused on flipping the cakes.

“You know how to cook, Noctis?” Luna asked.

“Um… a little,” Noctis said, looking away from her quickly. “I had a cooking job for a while.”

“That sounds fun,” Luna said, a little wistful.

“The food is ready now,” Ignis said, sifting powdered sugar onto the hot pancakes. “Noctis, if you would set the table, please.”

Noctis pulled out the plates and utensils and set them with the toppings Ignis had already put out.

“I’d be happy to teach you some things in the kitchen, Lady Lunafreya,” Ignis said as they sat down.

Luna grimaced slightly, an amusing expression on her typically so serene face. “That’s kind of you to offer,” she said, trailing off.

“You haven’t cooked anything since you set those pastries on fire in Tenebrae, have you?” Noctis said suddenly.

Luna blushed. “I did not set anything on fire,” she said.

“I’m pretty sure the fire wards went off in the kitchens.”

“Filling had seeped out of the tarts into the base of the oven, creating smoke,” she responded primly. “There were no flames.”

“I set lots of stuff on fire, too,” Noctis said around a mouthful of pancakes. “Thank the gods for Iggy, right?”

“Yes, these are delightful, Ignis,” Luna agreed.

“I’m glad they satisfy,” Ignis said. “I and the kitchen staff will do our best to keep you two away from any sources of heat.”

Noctis sat up a little straighter. “Hey, Luna, you can use magic, right?”

Luna nodded, fork still in her mouth.

“I gotta show you this thing I figured out using fire and ice magic together, it’s so cool. Well, it was kind of Crowe’s idea, but I helped.”

The two of them talked with surprising animation about the art of elemancy, still discussing the benefits of mixing various items into the spell flask—a process Ignis did not pretend to understand—while Ignis cleared the dishes and herded them to their next meeting. It was a good development, Ignis thought, to see Noctis coming out of his shell in a way he rarely did with others.

 

*****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks harshmallow for naming Cheesy Coeurls c:


	3. Chapter 3

The official announcement of Noctis and Lunafreya’s engagement went surprisingly smoothly. The king presided over a modest betrothal ceremony at which he gave a short speech and the two heirs gave their own statements. Ignis stood close by, in a row of diplomats and representatives behind the royals, keeping an eye on Noctis in case his attention began to drift. Gladiolus Amicitia, Noctis’s shield, stood at his side, right behind the prince, looming protectively. Ignis couldn't tell if he was more concerned about an the prince being assaulted or about what was going to come out of his mouth.

Noctis, however, comported himself well, delivering his statement with confidence and a fondness for Lunafreya that sounded genuine despite the staged event.

The ceremony was followed by a considerably less touching and more loud press conference. Although the entire country had known via rumor about the decision for several days now, the journalists were acting as though this was a startling reveal, and accused the king of overstepping his bounds.

“I don’t know,” Noctis said when Ignis expressed this after the conference while helping him change out of his formal attire in his quarters. “They’ve got a point, right?”

“It’s your and Lady Lunafreya’s marriage,” Ignis countered. “It’s the royal family’s decision to make, not the people’s.”

“I guess, but it’s not just a marriage,” Noctis said, sitting down at the kitchen table they’d eaten pancakes at the night before. “It’s like, a whole alliance thing. It basically means we’re going to war with Nifelheim.”

Ignis took the cravat from Noctis’s hands and added it to the hanger he was holding. “Hopefully it won’t come to that,” he said, sighing. “But you are correct. A closer alliance with Tenebrae could have a monumental effect on the people of Lucis. It’s simply frustrating to see his Majesty so put upon.”

“He’s the one that went and made the decision,” Noctis said, letting his head thud against the chair back.

“You’ve been spending quite a bit of time with Luna,” Ignis observed. “How have you been feeling about the engagement?”

Noctis pursed his lips. “Luna’s great. I haven’t really talked to her, like you said…”

There was a knock at the door. “It’s me,” Gladio’s voice called.

“Come in,” Noctis responded.

Gladio swung open the door, but simply leaned against the doorframe, filling it with his breadth. “Nah, you come out. You’ve been slacking on your training.” Although he was still wearing the suit he’d had on for the ceremony, he had a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

Noctis rolled his eyes. “I’ve been busy, not slacking, right, Iggy?”

“Indeed. But I’m afraid I did allow you to sleep through at least one scheduled training session earlier this week.”

Noctis looked betrayed. “Couldn’t I have gone to that instead of one of those formal teas?”

“I’ll try to keep your preferences in mind next time I have to choose between rousing you and having time to actually catch up on your paperwork.”

Gladio entered into the room and dragged Noctis, not entirely unwillingly, to his feet. “It worked out. I had the extra time to give Iris some more sword training, so you can spar against both of us today.”

“Great, two Amicitias pummeling me instead of one. I’m gonna be covered in bruises. Can't you teach her how to pull a blow?”

“Good chance to practice your dodging. You coming, Iggy?”

Ignis wanted nothing more than to go to his own apartment and have a coffee break, but he hadn’t had a proper training session in some weeks and was surely getting rusty. “I ought to,” he said.

Gladio looked him over while Noctis went to shed his undershirt and trousers and change into gym clothes. “You been taking care of yourself?”

“Why, am I wasting away?” Ignis asked, raising an eyebrow.

The sarcastic response didn’t put off Gladio. “Just about. Princess running you ragged?”

In fact, Noctis had been less demanding than ever. The true problem, Ignis realized with chagrin, was that he’d been staying up late and waking early to chat with Prompto, not to mention squandering his breaks on the same. “Nothing I can’t handle,” he said.

“Well, I’ve just been sitting on my ass with Noct locked up in the Citadel and all these guards,” Gladio said. “Let me know if you need me to take over.”

“Gunning for my job, are you?” Ignis said, but smiled. It was a kind offer.

“No way,” Gladio said, snorting. “Seriously, though, take a nap or something, man.”

Ignis shook his head. It was his own fault that he’d been staying up late. He wasn’t going to let it affect his work any more.

 

*****

 

He was thoroughly exhausted by the time he made it back to his apartment that night, and determined to get to sleep on time. Still, he’d silenced his phone most of the day, and didn’t want Prompto to think he was being ignored.

Prompto had sent him a few idle messages throughout the day, which trailed off without any responses. Until one more had come in the late afternoon, a message that made Ignis sigh and take off his glasses to rub at his nose.

 

>>Prompto (17:32): Hey this is gonna sound weird but… you’re not like some super important Insomnian official right??

 

So much for escapism. Ignis tried to dodge.

 

>>Ignis (22:57): I hope you’ve had a good day. I am sorry for not being more responsive today. Busy with work.

>>Ignis (22:59): As for my place in the city, I wouldn’t consider myself of any special importance.

 

Maybe Prompto was already asleep, or had lost interest in Ignis due to his inactivity during the day. Maybe that would be for the best, Ignis thought glumly as he brushed his teeth.

That wasn’t so, however; he returned to a flurry of messages on his phone.

 

>>Prompto (23:03): Haha OK cus like

>>Prompto (23:03): I was looking at the newspaper

>>Prompto (23:04): And there was this guy who looks just like you but he was with the prince

>>Prompto (23:04): so yeah

>>Prompto (23:04): You probably get that a lot huh?

>>Ignis (23:09): That was most likely me.

>>Prompto (23:10): Wait for real?

>>Prompto (23:10): ???????

>>Ignis (23:12): I am Prince Noctis’s retainer.

>>Prompto (23:14): Oh

>>Prompto (23:14): OK

>>Prompto (23:14): Cool

>>Prompto (23:14): That’s really cool

>>Ignis (23:16): Are you alright? Would you like for me to call you?

>>Prompto (23:17): No

>>Prompto (23:17): I mean no I’m fine! No need to call or anything lol

>>Prompto (23:18): Six you must be so busy with all the stuff going on I shouldn’t keep you up

>>Prompto (23:19): Have I been keeping you up all week?

>>Ignis (23:21): There’s no need to worry about me. As I said, I’m something of a night owl.

>>Prompto (23:22): OK that’s good

>>Prompto (23:22): Well good night!!

 

Ignis had been determined to go to bed, but the tone of Prompto’s messages had begun to concern him. He sat on the edge of his bed, wearing nothing but soft sleep pants, and plugged in his phone to charge, then spent a moment looking at the screen. He meant to send nothing more than a quick ‘ _good night_ ’ in response, but couldn't help asking.

 

>>Ignis (23:29): Are you sure you’re alright?

>>Prompto (23:30): I’m great!

>>Ignis (23:32): Good night, then.

>>Prompto (23:33): Night!

 

Ignis put his phone down without silencing it on a hunch, and after only a few moments of lying in bed in the dark, the phone vibrated, and he picked it up.

 

>>Prompto (23:40): So like is it really boring working for the prince or something?

>>Ignis (23:42): Not particularly. I keep busy.

>>Ignis (23:43): Why do you ask?

 

Again there was a pause just long enough for Ignis to begin considering that Prompto might have gone to sleep.

 

>>Prompto (23:48): Why do you talk to me?

>>Prompto (23:49): So much I mean

>>Prompto (23:49): Not that it’s too much or anything!

>>Ignis (23:52): I am allowed to socialize.

>>Prompto (23:53): Dx Sorry

>>Ignis (23:54): No offence taken.

>>Ignis (23:55): I talk to you because I enjoy it.

>>Ignis (23:56): I had thought the feeling was mutual?

>>Prompto (23:58): Of course I like talking to you!!

>>Prompto (23:58): But Ignis I totally snowed you :(

>>Ignis (00:00): “Snowed” me?

>>Prompto (00:02): I’m just like some pleb I don’t even have anything interesting happening in my life

>>Prompto (00:03): And you hang out with princes and stuff all day??

>>Prompto (00:03): Idk what I did to make you think I’m worth your time

>>Prompto (00:004): Omg I sent you that pic and told you it was an accident

>>Prompto (00:04): Is that treason?????

>>Ignis (00:007): I’m afraid I don’t understand how my failure to disclose the details of my job means that *you* have deceived *me* in any meaningful way

>>Ignis (00:09): I should be the one apologizing.

>>Ignis (00:10): I’ve been enjoying our conversations and didn’t want to talk about my work, which may have been selfish of me.

>>Ignis (00:12): I’m often treated as an extension of the prince here in Insomnia

>>Ignis (00:12): It can be tiring.

>>Ignis (00:13): I’m sorry for not telling you.

>>Prompto (00:14): Oh

>>Prompto (00:14): I’m an idiot

>>Ignis (00:16): You haven’t accepted my apology. What can I do to make it up to you?

>>Prompto (00:16): Of course I accept your apology!

>>Prompto (00:17): You don’t have to do anything geez

>>Prompto (00:18): OMG it’s really late now!!!

>>Prompto (00:19): Plz go to bed I don’t wanna be responsible for the whole government imploding or whatever

>>Ignis (00:21): I assure you, my work is not that important.

>>Ignis (00:22): But I will retire now. Sleep well.

>>Prompto (00:22): You too!

 

Ignis awoke easily the next morning, just before his alarm went off. He felt almost as though he’d never fallen asleep. One detail from the night before was at the forefront of his mind, and he immediately took up his phone to send Prompto a message.

 

>>Ignis (5:31): So, you sent that picture on purpose, after all?

 

He waited in bed for a minute or so, but there was no immediate response. Prompto was likely sleeping in.

Ignis wasn’t feeling particularly groggy yet, but he knew from past experience that his decision to stay up would catch up with him quickly, so he started making coffee even before changing his clothes.

He was nearly startled into scattering coffee grounds over the counter by his phone beginning to ring. After dumping the coffee into its filter, he picked it up. Noctis, of course.

“This is Ignis,” he said upon accepting the call.

The prince’s voice was thick and gravelly with sleep. “Why is Gladio knocking on my door?”

“I can’t imagine why you think I would know. Ask him instead of calling me. What if I’d been asleep?”

“You never sleep.” Noctis didn’t say anything for a few moments, so Ignis pinned the phone against his ear with his shoulder and continued preparing coffee. He could hear the sounds of Noctis moving around, clothing shuffling, a door opening.

“What do you want?” Noctis asked.

“ _Training_ ,” Gladio’s faraway voice said. “ _You don’t get to let yourself go just ‘cause you’ve got a fiancée and a bunch of bodyguards. What are you doing on the phone?”_

“Specs,” Noctis said, “They’re gonna try to make me train even though I just—”

Thumping. The sounds of a scuffle. Noctis’s annoyed yelp and a giggle.

“Hi Ignis!” Gladiolus’s younger sister had gained control of Noctis’s cell phone.

“Hello, Iris. You’re up early today,” Ignis said.

“Gladdy says an early morning run is the best way to wake up, so he’s taking me and Noct out to do laps,” she reported dutifully, sounding perfectly alert even before starting on the prescribed jogging.

The phone crackled, switching hands again as Ignis pressed start on his coffee machine.

“I’ll get all sweaty,” Noctis complained to Ignis. “Tell them I have that meeting to go to.”

“ _Better hurry up so you have time to shower, then_ ,” Gladio said, and Ignis heard the phone being shuffled around once more for Gladio to speak directly into it. “Sorry, Iggy, you’ll just have to take the morning off. I already looked at Noct’s schedule and there ain’t no early meeting, so we’ll be in the yard. Call me if you’ve got a problem with that. His Highness is leaving his phone here.” And the call ended with a beep.

Ignis set down his phone and watched the coffee begin to drip. Take the morning off?

The most responsible thing to do would be to use this gift of time from Gladio to catch up on the more humdrum work he’d been putting off due to extra duties that had arisen from the engagement and the oracle’s presence. The second most responsible thing would probably be to go back to sleep, to try to make up for the time he’d lost last night and the previous nights.

Instead he took his coffee to his sitting area and settled down in the armchair with his phone. There were no new messages, no emails he needed to respond to. He spent some time looking at the photographs that Prompto had sent him.

The scenic shots around Hammerhead were still beautiful. He hadn’t taken the time to appreciate the scenery when he’d driven out there with Noctis, even though he’d never spent much time outside of the city before that.

He hadn’t realized how inspiring such wide open space could be—no skyscrapers, no walls, just the sparse vegetation and the road stretching out into the horizon. Maybe he would never have been able to realize it on his own. He didn’t have much of an artist’s eye, but Prompto clearly did.

Ignis pushed his glasses up on his forehead and sighed. He was getting awfully sentimental about a man he might have already scared off for good.

He scrolled back on his phone to look at the selfies Prompto had sent him, and was still considering the picture of Prompto and his friend Cindy when he got a new message.

 

>>Prompto (08:30): Yeah…….. :d

 

His stomach flipped. The nude shot. Prompto had sent it on purpose, then, which meant he was interested in Ignis, right? He replaced his glasses and responded cautiously.

>>Ignis (08:31): What does that emoticon mean?

>>Prompto (08:32): Um...like an awkward face? Idk

>>Ignis (08:33): I’ve been wondering if you would admit it wasn’t an accident.

>>Prompto (08:35): You knew Dx of course you knew

>>Prompto (08:35): Ugh I’m so embarrassed

>>Prompto (08:36): I should have just texted you like a normal person…… I’m sorry for lying

>>Ignis (08:36): I found the subterfuge rather charming.

>>Ignis (08:38): I’ve also been wondering if you would send any more pictures like that.

>>Prompto (08:42): Did you want me to?

>>Ignis (08:42): Yes.

>>Prompto (08:43): Oh

>>Prompto (08:43): Wow

>>Prompto (08:44): Ok

>>Prompto (08:44): I’m not at home right now

>>Ignis (08:45): Although perhaps it’s unfair of me to say that when I never reciprocated

>>Prompto (08:45): But I could take something later

>>Prompto (08:46): Wait what do you mean :o

>>Ignis (08:47): I can send you a picture of myself, if you would like.

>>Prompto (08:48): Yes!!!

>>Ignis (08:48): Are you in public?

>>Prompto (08:49): I’m at work but no one’s here right now

 

Ignis stood and went to his bathroom, flipping on the light and observing himself in the mirror above the sink. He hadn’t changed out of his sleep clothes yet, so he was shirtless, loose pants hanging low around his hips.

He slicked his hair back with water from the sink, holding up his phone camera to check the lighting on his face. He looked good. He looked fine. Prompto obviously hadn’t worried too much about that first picture he had sent.

Ignis straightened his shoulders, flexing his muscles—with subtlety, of course—and took the picture.

 

>>Ignis (08:52): [picture attached]

>>Prompto (08:53): Omg D:

>>Ignis (08:54): You’re upset?

>>Prompto (08:54): No!!

>>Prompto (08:55): Yes Dx

>>Prompto (08:55): You look so good

>>Prompto (08:55): You’re muscles what the fuck

>>Prompto (08:56): Sorry for cursing

>>Prompto (08:56): And grammar

>>Ignis (08:57): I’m scandalized.

>>Prompto (08:57): :P

>>Prompto (08:57): But you know I still don’t think we’re even

>>Prompto (08:58): Since I’m pretty sure my pic showed a lot more >_>

>>Ignis (08:58): Ah, you’re right of course.

 

Fingertips trembling, he untied the strings of his pants and let them fall around his thighs. He took another picture. Good, his unsteady hands hadn’t caused it to blur.

 

>>Ignis (09:00): [picture attached]

>>Prompto (09:00): OMG

>>Prompto (09:01): So…..

>>Prompto (09:01): Does your dick always look like that or like.....

>>Ignis (09:01): I’m hard

>>Prompto (09:02): Are you jerking off?

>>Ignis (09:02): I am now

>>Ignis (09:03): I’m hard just from thinking about you looking at me

>>Prompto (09:03): Really??

>>Prompto (09:04): I really hope no one comes in I look like a mess

>>Ignis (09:05): I want to see your face

>>Prompto (09:06): You want a picture?

>>Ignis (09:06): Yes

>>Ignis (09:06): Please

>>Prompto (09:07): [picture attached]

>>Prompto (09:07): brb

 

In the picture, Prompto’s face was bright red, his freckles and uneven tan obscured by the color on his cheeks. His hair was down, as it had been the day they had met. He looked as though he’d hastily pushed it back out of his face in the moments before taking the picture, a few loose strands framing wide eyes. His lips were moist, parted.

Ignis’s hand, curled around himself as he’d texted one-handed, sped up, the sounds echoing in his empty bathroom. He had to put the phone down, leaning forward against the counter, when the pleasure suddenly surged and crested, his fingers barely keeping the release from dripping down onto the tiles below.

Lightheaded, he pushed himself back up and looked down at his cum-slicked hand. It was a nice sight, the translucent release on his skin against the black countertop. He took a picture of it before it could begin to congeal, and, because he was already using the messaging app’s camera, he simply moved his thumb over and hit _send_ before he had even a moment to second-guess himself.

He used an old towel to clean himself off, then pulled his pants back on to return to the living room and sink into his chair. It was still early morning, and he was already exhausted. What would Gladio say if he knew this was how he was spending his free time?

For the first time, Ignis felt a true vein of worry about his relationship with Prompto. It was odd, because he’d spent so much time feeling it out, pushing for sexual contact, and now that he had gotten it, he wondered— was it really alright? He had a demanding job that didn’t even allow him time to pursue a romance with someone he could physically meet, let alone a person outside of the city who would require a whole different order of contact in order to maintain anything resembling a dating relationship.

But this wasn’t exactly a romance, and it wasn’t a dating relationship, was it? They were more like… penpals. He looked at the picture Prompto had just sent him, and felt both warm and uneasy. Prompto hadn’t said anything to imply that he wanted something more than what they were doing so far. For that matter, he hadn’t even responded to the lewd picture Ignis had just sent. Ignis didn’t have much time to worry about that before Prompto did finally respond.

 

>>Prompto (09:16): Sorry a customer showed up

>>Prompto (09:16): Holy shit

>>Ignis (09:17): I hope that wasn’t too crude.

>>Prompto (09:18): I had to help a lady find hi-potions while hiding a raging hard on D;

>>Prompto (09:19): And then I come back and you came everywhere that’s way too fucking hot is what it is

>>Ignis (09:19): I’ll do my best to make it up to you.

>>Prompto (09:20): You keep saying that and I might take you up on it >_>

>>Ignis (09:20): I certainly hope so.

>>Prompto (09:21): [picture attached]

>>Ignis (09:22): Beautiful.

 

It was a beautiful picture, and the warm feeling in Ignis’s chest grew, looking at it. It was similar to the facial shot Prompto had sent him upon request, but this time, Prompto seemed to have become so flustered that he was covering his face with one hand, clearly embarrassed but also smiling. Even his hand had freckles, Ignis noticed; little flecks across the back of his hand, disappearing under the wristband he always seemed to wear, a strap of black leather, this time.

 

>>Prompto (09:24): So… what would you do to make it up to me?

>>Ignis (09:24): When do you get off work?

>>Prompto (09:25): I locked up again as soon as that lady left lol

>>Prompto (09:25): And I’m not above jacking it in the bathroom here

>>Ignis (09:28): Why don’t you call me so I can tell you?

 

The phone began ringing almost immediately, and Ignis tried not to sound too smug when he answered it. “Prompto.”

He heard the phone shift. “Um. Hi. Ignis.”

“You’re alone?”

A nervous little laugh. “Yeah. But, uh, the walls are kinda thin. I can hear some hunters outside. They’re always smoking out back…”

“No need to make too much noise, then. Just listen,” Ignis said, heart racing even as he tried to sound cool, calm and smooth.

Prompto uttered a muffled curse that sent a pulse of heat through Ignis’s body. “Ignis, your voice is so hot…”

“Shh,” Ignis hushed him. “Are you touching yourself?”

“Uh, yeah,” Prompto said, a little breathless despite the sass in his voice. Ignis strained his ear, and thought he might be able to hear a rhythmic beat of clothing rustling, a belt buckle tinkling.

“That’s excellent. If I were there, you wouldn’t have to touch yourself, though. I’d be on my knees with my mouth on you the moment you locked the door.”

“Oh, gods, really?”

“Of course. I’d love to take you into my mouth and suck you until you screamed my name. I’d make you forget anyone could be listening.” Ignis scratched at the tingling blush on his cheeks but kept his voice to a purr.

Prompto didn’t seem to be picking up on his embarrassment. His breathing became more labored, more vocal, and Ignis began to worry that someone really would overhear him at his shop if he kept up that little grunt on each exhale.

“I’m, I’m gonna come,” Prompto whispered.

“Please, come for me,” Ignis said. “I want you to come in my mouth.”

Prompto was nearly silent when he came, but the harsh breath he let out was unmistakeable. “Gods,” he sighed after panting for a few moments.

“I do hope no one heard anything,” Ignis said.

Prompto made a distressed noise. “I wasn’t loud, was I?”

“It certainly didn’t bother me.”

Prompto sighed. “I gotta clean up and open the store again, I guess. I’ll… text you later?”

“Anytime you like,” Ignis promised, despite the worries that had rushed into his mind before hearing Prompto’s voice. He dropped his phone onto the coffee table after hanging up.

 

*****

 

Noctis shifted in his seat, looking at Ignis and quickly looking away. They were sitting in the Audi in the Amicitia’s driveway.

“Something you want to say, Noct?” Ignis asked. His hand was poised on the gearshift, ready to start driving away.

He sighed. “It’s just… something Gladio said. Are you doing alright, Ignis?”

Ignis put the car in park and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “If your Shield has concerns about the quality of my work…” A hand on his arm stopped him.

“Specs, no. It's not like that. We're your friends.” Noctis took a heavy breath. “You've been acting weird ever since I told you about the engagement. If there's something you need to tell me, I won't… I won't judge. It won't make me uncomfortable.”

Ignis stared at him, for once at a loss for words.

Noctis moved his hand from Ignis’s arm down to cover his hand on the steering wheel. Although it was clearly difficult for him, he held Ignis’s gaze. “You're my best friend, Ignis. This won't change anything.”

“Thank you. For saying that.”

Noctis pulled his hand back and turned his gaze to the dashboard. “I just… I can't do this. I already feel like a fraud marrying Luna. I won't string you along as well.”

Ignis couldn't think of anything to say to this other than, “What?”

Noctis turned back to him, eyes wide. “Don't you… aren't you…”

“Aren't I what?”

“You were so distant after I told you about the engagement, and then you said that thing about how I could sleep with other people, and you've been typing stuff on your phone all intense…”

“Noctis… I— I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say, and I mean no offense, but I'm not in love with you.”

“You're not?”

“No, I'm not. How long have you thought that?”

Noctis was red-faced, now. “I mean, you told me you're into guys ages ago, and Gladio’s always saying that you've gotta love me with all the stuff you do for me. And my dad's been saying I should talk to you, too.”

The _king_ had thought that Ignis had eyes for his son? But no, that wasn't the important part right now. “I do love you,” He said, and Noctis's eyes widened. He'd never said that before. “But not like that. I don't— I'm not jealous of your engagement to Lunafreya. And I certainly didn't mean to sound as though I was coming onto you.”

Noctis let out a heavy sigh, slumping back into his seat.

“Is it really that much of a relief?” Ignis couldn’t help but tease.

Contrite, Noctis furrowed his brow. “It’s not… Yeah, it is. It’s not you. I think… I think Luna really wants to marry me.”

It took a great deal of restraint for Ignis to keep his eyebrows from shooting up. “Are you saying you don’t intend to go through with your marriage?”

“No, no, I’m gonna do it. We have to. But, like, she really _wants_ to. I think, maybe, she’s in love with me, or she wants to be in love with me, and I…” Noctis was looking down at his hands, now, but Ignis could see a tremble in his body, hear a tightness in his voice. He hadn’t seen Noctis cry since they were both small children. “I don’t love her. I don’t think I can love anyone.”

Ignis decided that now was not the best time to point out that this could be a beneficial trait for someone in Noctis’s social position. Instead, he asked, “Do you wish you could?”

Noctis looked up at him, no longer trying to hide the tears pooling in his eyes. He looked absolutely helpless. “I don’t want to ruin her life. I don’t want to feel like I’m fucked up inside.” He looked away again abruptly and took a deep, shaking breath.

“For what it's worth, I think you are plenty capable of love,” Ignis said when it became clear that Noctis wasn’t going to say anything more. “Even if you never fall in love. You have a kind and generous heart. There's nothing wrong with it.”

Noctis crossed his arms, forehead pressed against the window, shoulders still quaking. When he spoke, Ignis could barely hear him. “Of course you think that.”

“I do think that,” Ignis said firmly. “I don’t think you would worry so much about hurting Lunafreya if you didn’t care deeply for her as a friend.”

“It’s hard,” Noctis said, voice still quiet. “I just want to be left alone, but I have to think about other people, and it’s not supposed to be that hard to not hurt people’s feelings, is it?”

Ignis watched him for a moment before speaking. “I’ve known you practically all your life, and I know you work hard to make the people around you happy. That’s all anyone else is doing, even if you can’t see the effort they go to.”

Noctis sniffed loudly, and Ignis reached over him to pull a packet of tissues out of the glove box.

“Thanks,” Noctis whispered, taking the tissues.

“Do you want to go home?”

Noctis nodded, so Ignis finally started up the car again and pulled out of the Amicitia’s drive. After they had driven a while and Noctis’s breathing had evened out, he twisted around to look at Ignis, who had to concentrate on keeping his eyes on the road and not looking back at him on instinct. “So, wait, why _have_ you been acting weird lately, then?”

“I have not,” Ignis responded.

“You have,” Noctis insisted. “Even Iris said that you’re looking at your phone a lot more and she doesn’t even hang out with you that much.”

“I’ve been busy,” Ignis said.

“You’ve been talking to someone, haven’t you?”

“Yes, you caught me, I’ve been sending secret messages to Nifelheim spies,” Ignis said dryly. “I’ve told them all your weaknesses.”

“This isn’t some kind of secret surprise shit with the wedding, is it?” Noctis asked.

He wasn’t going to drop it. “No, Noctis,” Ignis said, even more embarrassed now than he had been earlier. “I’ve just been talking to a friend. You are aware that I have other friends than you, Iris, and Gladio, aren’t you?”

“No,” Noctis responded. “Who is it?”

“Someone I met in Hammerhead,” Ignis admitted.

“What, in the two minutes we stopped there last month?”

“That’s right.”

“Huh.” Noctis leaned back in his seat again.

He had only been in Prompto’s presence for those few minutes, hadn’t he? It didn’t quite seem right to call him a friend; he felt like both more and less than that, somehow.

“You’re smiling,” Noctis pointed out as they were pulling into the Citadel’s garage.

Ignis winced. He’d thought Noctis had given up on the conversation.

“So, it’s, like… you like this person, don’t you?” Noctis asked before Ignis could get out of the car.

“I suppose I do.” It seemed impolite to talk about his own love life in light of what Noctis had just confided in him, but it would have been worse to lie.

“Is it serious?”

Ignis laughed, despite himself. “It's not, it… I can't. I don't have time for something serious.”

“Do you wish it could be?”

Ignis looked at him, surprised. He was looking at Ignis out of the corner of his eye. “No,” Ignis said, ignoring something that twisted in his chest as he said it. “Come, let’s go up.”

They went, winding through the halls of the Citadel, quiet at night but still thrumming with dormant energy–both from the magic of the Crystal contained deep within and the activities of servants and nobles. In the quiet, Ignis’s phone vibrating in his pocket rang out.

“Your friend?” Noctis asked. “You can answer it.”

Ignis pulled out his phone, but the buzzing had stopped. “Just messages,” he told Noctis.

“Can I see?” Noctis prodded.

“Certainly not.”

Noctis laughed. “Shiva, you’re blushing! Did he send you a picture?”

“I’m not checking while you’re around.” They had arrived at the prince’s quarters.

“Is he cute?”

Noctis was never so nosy. Maybe he was still feeling awkward about their conversation from the car. “He is,” Ignis allowed, unlocking the door.

“Come on, you gotta show me.”

“Well, if I’ve gotta,” Ignis mocked his accent. He pulled up the picture of Prompto posing with his friend and showed it to Noctis, who had waited patiently, leaning against the wall by the door.

“Oh,” Noctis said, studying the picture. Ignis waited for him to ask more questions or make some comment about Cindy’s presence in the picture, but he just returned the phone. “I hope he’s as nice as he looks.”

 

*****


	4. Chapter 4

>>Prompto (13:21): Good morning Ignis!!

>>Prompto (13:22): Whoops I guess it’s kinda late for morning huh

>>Prompto (13:22): I just got back from a hunt!!

>>Prompto (13:23): Don’t worry I was very careful ;) I went with some of the folks from hunter HQ so I pretty much just stood in the back & shot stuff and threw potions

 

Ignis was attending an event hosted by the king for a number of Insomnian nobles and representatives from nearby regions—Galahd and the protectorates in Tenebrae’s orbit, mostly, places that were in a gray area of independence and subservience to either kingdom. Later, there would be food and alcohol and mingling, an opportunity to gauge the general sentiment among these people regarding the upcoming treaty.

For now, there was the necessary spectacle of speeches and statements to sit through. With the party from Tenebrae on the stage along with the Lucian monarchy and council, Ignis had been relegated to the audience for this event, which suited him just fine. He was able to hide his phone within the cover of his notebook and pretend to be taking notes while he texted Prompto.

 

>>Ignis (13:25): I hope the hunt was successful.

>>Prompto (13:26): Yeah it was! I got more money than I make in a week @_@

>>Prompto (13:27): Anyway I wanted to ask a favor

>>Prompto (13:27): I mean not really a favor

>>Prompto (13:28): I just wanted to ask if you’d send me another picture?

>>Ignis (13:30): Certainly. Any requests?

>>Prompto (13:33): Just like a normal selfie?

>>Prompto (13:34): OMG wait did you think I was asking for a sexy pic?

>>Ignis (13:35): I wouldn’t be opposed, if you were.

>>Prompto (13:35): :d

>>Prompto (13:36): Well I just wanted something to put as your contact picture on my phone. That first pic you sent me is kinda dark.

>>Prompto (13:37): I’m not gonna tell people about you or anything

>>Ignis (13:39): You can tell people about us if you like

>>Ignis (13:42): I trust your discretion as far as the more risqué things I send you, but you don’t have to keep it a secret that you’re in contact with me.

>>Prompto (13:43): Oh

>>Prompto (13:43): I just thought you’d want to keep it on the DL?

>>Ignis (13:45): I’m hardly a public figure. And as I said before, there’s nothing restricting me from having friends or romances.

>>Ignis (13:46): You’re welcome to tell your friends about me.

>>Ignis (13:46): I’ve spoken about you.

>>Prompto (13:47): Oh man that’s a relief x_x Cindy’s kind of been on my case about texting all the time.

>>Prompto (13:47): Wait you have?

>>Ignis (13:49): I do hope that’s alright. Noctis became curious about my behavior, as well.

>>Prompto (13:50): The PRINCE?????

>>Prompto (13:50): He’s not mad or something right?

>>Prompto (13:51): I don’t wanna get you in trouble but also he should probably mind his own business?? I mean he’s your boss I guess but I seriously can’t see you slacking or something

>>Ignis (13:53): He hasn’t been at all critical.

>>Ignis (13:54): I fear I may have given you a bad impression of Prince Noctis.

>>Prompto (13:57): Oh

>>Ignis (13:59): Although he can be frustrating at times, in truth he is one of my closest friends.

>>Prompto (14:03): Just shoot me in the face x__x

>>Ignis (14:04): I think you might get along with Noctis, actually. He also enjoys engaging in morbid hyperbole.

>>Prompto (14:05): No hyperbole here!!! I’m super serious dude

 

Ignis frowned. It felt like more joking, to be sure, but he didn’t know how to respond to something like that. There was no need to start lecturing Prompto about his style of humor.

Around him, people were applauding politely for the Tenebraen prince’s statement of unity and continued cooperation among the gathered nations against tyranny and expansionism.

 

>>Ignis (14:09): Your face is far too pretty to be threatened in such a way.

>>Prompto (14:09): Flatterer! :p

 

That made Ignis feel a little better. Prompto was just joking around. He put his phone away and looked up to meet Gladiolus’s eyes, unexpectedly, from the stage. The prince’s Shield was looking at him curiously; Ignis pointedly shifted his gaze to focus on King Regis, who had retaken the podium.

Once the speeches were done with, Ignis made his way through the crowd to where Noctis was standing, almost managing to be inconspicuous next to an arrangement of plants. He was involved in some kind of conversation with the Tenebraen prince, Ravus Nox Flueret. The conversation appeared to be somewhat one-sided. Ravus was speaking, gesturing with a full glass of wine in one hand, while Noctis listened with a glassy-eyed expression.

Gladio was there, too, standing protectively at Noctis’s elbow. When Ignis came up to them, Gladio shot him a another glance, but Ignis was able to avoid any questions about what he was doing during the ceremony by engaging Ravus in conversation, to Noctis’s apparent relief.

Ignis was able to maintain a diplomatic face while listening to Ravus’s long list of thinly veiled criticisms regarding the kingdom his sister would be marrying into—the Citadel’s decor was a poor imitation of traditional architecture, the staff was overly familiar, the streets were too narrow and crowded—by thinking about Prompto.

He certainly had a different kind of life out in Hammerhead than Ignis had here in Insomnia, working such a range of odd jobs and exploring the countryside with his camera. He complained about boredom at times, but it sounded nice to Ignis.

When he had finally been excused from the event and allowed to retire to his own apartment, he was pleased to see he had received more messages.

 

>>Prompto (18:12): So….. about that other kind of picture

>>Prompto (18:13): You said I could ask for something?

>>Ignis (18:48): Certainly. It can be anything you want.

>>Prompto (18:52): Anything???

>>Ignis (18:54): I don’t think I could deny what you ask for.

>>Prompto (18:58): What, you don’t think I’d ask for something kinky? >:o

>>Ignis (18:59): That’s not what I mean at all.

>>Prompto (19:00): …Oh :d

>>Ignis (19:01): Does this make you feel awkward?

>>Prompto (19:01): Huh?

>>Prompto (19:01): Oh the face

>>Prompto (19:02): I mean yeah it makes me blush… But not in a bad way

>>Ignis (19:03): I see.

>>Ignis (19:03): I presume you’re at home?

>>Prompto (19:04): Yep! I got the day off

>>Ignis (19:05): And what are you doing?

>>Prompto (19:06): :d

>>Prompto (19:06): You know

>>Ignis (19:07): Do I, now?

>>Ignis (19:08): So you’re masturbating?

>>Prompto (19:10): Yeah

>>Ignis (19:11): How do you do it?

>>Prompto (19:12): ??? The normal way

>>Prompto (19:13): How else would I do it? Other than like with my hand??

>>Ignis (19:15): I was trying to find out if you like penetration, and if you have any toys.

>>Prompto (19:16): oh

>>Prompto (19:16): do

>>Prompto (19:16): You?

>>Ignis (19:17): I do. And I have a few.

>>Prompto (19:17): OMG

>>Prompto (19:17): Emojis have failed me

>>Ignis (19:18): Would you like a picture featuring one of them?

>>Prompto (19:18): No!!!!!!

>>Prompto (19:19): I mean not yet!!

>>Prompto (19:21): I mean

>>Prompto (19:21): Really?

 

Ignis, laughing, was already opening the small case he kept under his bed. He didn’t have time to do anything too involved, so he simply laid out several pieces on his comforter and took a photo.

 

>>Ignis (19:28): [picture attached]

>>Prompto (19:30): IGNIS

>>Prompto (19:30): YOURE GONNA KILL ME

>>Prompto (19:31): I mean not literally of course but DX

>>Ignis (19:33): That didn’t take much. They’re not even doing anything.

>>Prompto (19:34): How are you so calm???!!! ;___;

>>Ignis (19:36): I suppose I’ve never seen the need to be shy about this sort of thing, at least in private.

>>Ignis (19:36): ;)

>>Prompto (19:37): >_>

 

There was a lull after that, which Ignis attributed to Prompto resuming his solo activities. A pleasant thought. However, only a few minutes after he had put his collection away and returned to his desk, his phone buzzed again.

 

>>Prompto (19:43): [video attached]

 

The video, when he played it, made Ignis put his face in his hands, cheeks burning in a way they hadn’t since he was first learning public speaking as a child.

Prompto had held his phone up near his face, camera pointing down his supine body, his bare body, all of it. Ignis realized he had never seen Prompto completely uncovered before. His penis—circumcised, it turned out—was thick, hard in his hand, the head of it pink and swollen. Liquid was building at the already shiny tip as he stroked himself, jostling the camera.

With the phone so near his face, Prompto had recorded every sound that passed his lips, every gasp and unchecked moan.

“ _Ignis_ ,” his voice whispered, tinny through the phone, just as milky release spilled from his twitching cock, his hand no longer moving, simply gripping the base.

Ignis rubbed his eyes, pushing his glasses up onto his forehead, once the video ended. Well, Prompto had had his revenge.

He turned his phone camera on himself to capture his own disheveled hair and and red face.

 

>>Ignis (19:49): [picture attached]

>>Prompto (19:52): Ooh maybe I’ll set that as your contact pic!!

>>Ignis (19:53): Don’t you dare.

>>Prompto (19:53): :D

 

Ignis was prevented from doing anything about the video by the sound of his doorbell ringing. It was an anomaly—part of living outside of the Citadel and not knowing many people outside of work meant that he was rarely contacted other than by phone.

He checked the spyhole, thinking it could have been a neighbor. When he saw who it was, he quickly unlocked and opened the door.

“Marshall,” he greeted the man, stepping aside to allow him to enter. “Please, come in. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Cor Leonis, head of the Crownsguard, was standing on his doorstep, scowling. He made no move to come inside.

Ignis rapidly catalogued his own conduct from the past several weeks. He hadn’t done anything wrong, had he?

“Business, not pleasure, Scientia,” the marshall said. He held out a thick and rather messy looking folder, and Ignis took it. “I figured you’re the best person to make a decision on this. Tell the prince’s Shield, at least. Up to you whether you think the prince and oracle need to know, too.”

“Sir?” Ignis opened the folder, but it was disorganized, and he couldn’t discern the topic.

“There’s an investigation in progress,” Cor told him, demanding eye contact and holding it. “So keep this under wraps.”

“Yes, sir,” Ignis said, swallowing, tucking the folder under his elbow.

“Good man,” Cor said. “I’ll take the heat for this if the council tries to give you shit, Ignis. I just… I can’t let the prince and oracle go on with no warning.”

“I understand,” Ignis said, although he still had no idea what could be contained within the documents he had been given.

Once Cor had taken his leave and Ignis was finally able to process the information, he called Noctis.

“Get Gladio and Luna. We’ll meet in your rooms.”

 

*****

 

“It seems there is a serious plot out there to disrupt the wedding,” Ignis announced, the folder that Cor had given him spread open on Noctis’s dining table. “Something... from within the Kingsglaive, possibly.”

Gladio stood up and began pacing next to the door. The others—Noctis, Luna, and even Iris, who Gladio said he hadn’t been able to shake when he left for Noctis’s quarters—looked grim.

“The Crownsguard is advising that you delay the wedding in order for the Glaive members and other Citadel staff to be vetted,” Ignis continued.

“Good,” Gladio said from where he was. “Six, can’t believe there’d be traitors in the Glaive…”

“That’s… what they want, though, right?” Iris asked. Everyone looked at her, and she clasped her hands in her lap. “The Empire, don’t they want to try to attack Tenebrae before the alliance is official? So delaying the wedding helps them?”

Ignis removed his glasses and cleaned them with a cloth from his pocket. “That’s not a bad point.”

“So actually, they should get married _sooner_ ,” Iris said. “Right?”

“Wait,” Noctis said, leaning forward over the table. “What’s so important about the wedding? Isn’t the treaty our parents are gonna sign the important part?”

“Noctis, once you and I are married, our countries will be allied as a matter of international law,” Lunafreya stated. “The only way this could be circumvented is if one or both of us abdicates our standing as an heir apparent to our respective kingdoms before the wedding.”

“So the treaty signing is redundant?” Ignis asked.

“The details of the alliance will be set down at the treaty signing,” Luna explained. “But at its most basic level, the marriage of state of the kind we have planned has always involved an agreement to collective defense.”

Noctis sat back in his chair. “So we should just… get married, then. Yeah. We should just elope, right?”

Gladio returned to the table. “Would that work? What makes the marriage official for this international law stuff?”

“What makes a marriage official in Lucis?” Luna asked in response.

In the silence that greeted this question, Noctis pulled out his phone.

“Are you Moogling this?” Ignis asked.

“Sure, why not?”

“One of the palace’s many lawyers would be better suited to advise you on such a matter,” Ignis pointed out.

“But what if they’re spies, Iggy?” Iris asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah, I think I’ll take my chances with Moogle,” Noctis said. “Okay, so it says here, any adult member of the nobility can validate the marriage certificate, so whatever, you or Gladio could do that,” he read, eyes flicking up to Ignis for a moment. “If you’re getting married inside Insomnia, there’s all this crud you have to go through… publish an announcement in a major newspaper at least three days in advance in order to apply for a marriage license… blood test... It says outside of the city you can just show up at court and pay a fee. Let’s do that.”

Gladio rubbed at his beard, leaning over Noctis’s shoulder to follow along with the article he had found. “Sneak out of Insomnia and get you two hitched, huh? Where would we even go?”

“Hammerhead’s the closest town, right?” Noctis was looking at Ignis again, face stoic.

Ignis stared him down for a long moment, but he didn’t blink. Finally, Ignis said, “I believe it was you, Noctis, who was telling me your concern not too long ago about monarchs making hasty decisions that could affect their people.”

“Decision’s already made, Iggy,” Gladio cut in. “Getting married faster ain’t gonna hurt anyone.”

“Yeah, what he said.”

“And what about staying out of the news?”

“I can’t avoid it forever.” Noctis dropped his phone onto the table, shrugging.

“Well, you’ll be making headlines soon enough.”

“I’d rather be in the obituaries,” was Noctis’s reply, a quip he made often enough. It wasn’t the type of joke Ignis knew him to make in front of his oracle bride-to-be, however, and Noctis, clearly remembering her presence, whipped his head around to look at her, a guilty, wary expression on his face.

Luna, however, had let out a sharp giggle, the least regal sound Ignis had heard her make.  She covered her mouth. “Noctis!” she admonished, still laughing. “That’s terrible.”

Noctis scrubbed a hand through his hair, smiling slightly. “So when do we leave?”

 

******

 

They agreed to set off early the following morning, when they would be able to quietly slip away amongst the bustle of commuters, before anyone would seek out any of them for obligations they had scheduled.

The trip would last a few days, at the most, but they at least would need some changes of clothes; Iris and Gladiolus could pack for themselves, of course, and Lunafreya declined Ignis’s offer of help, so all Ignis had to do was pack for himself and Noctis, without alerting anyone in the Citadel to their plans.

It was easily accomplished: Ignis often took Noctis’s car on his own out of the Citadel, so no one batted an eye when he left with it that evening. They would have to switch to something large enough to seat the five of them in the morning.

He stopped at Noctis’s apartment, first, gratified that he had insisted on cleaning it before Lunafreya arrived at the Citadel. The place was perfectly tidy, if a little forlorn with none of its customary clutter.

The small bags they had taken out into Leide previously were in a shelf in Noctis’s closet, folded up where Ignis had left them after unpacking. He shook one out and began gathering up clothing.

Ignis had the impression that he himself spent more time in Noctis’s closet than the prince did. When, looking for a cap of some kind, he opened a drawer and saw an unfamiliar book half-buried beneath the loose articles stored there, he let his curiosity compel him to pull it out.

It was a photo album. Snapshots from the last twenty or so years were filed inside without commentary or embellishment aside from the dates on their backs. Noctis must have received it from his father or someone else at the Citadel and sequestered it here.

As he flipped through the pages, one caught his eye—a picture of himself, oddly enough. He chuckled at the stern expression on his younger self’s face, a child holding his hands behind his back stiffly, mouth in a straight line. He was wearing a uniform in the style of the Citadel staff, hair flat against his forehead, the acne that would plague his teenage years just starting to show around his nose and brows.

It was embarrassing, but Prompto had shared his childhood photo with Ignis, so he would do the same.

 

>>Ignis (22:41): I came across an old picture [picture attached]

 

He put the book away and continued packing; by the time he was done, sure enough, he’d received several replies from Prompto despite the late hour.

 

>>Prompto (22:56): Hahaha you look so serious!!

>>Prompto (22:56): How old are you here?

>>Prompto (21:57): Why were you wearing a little suit?

>>Ignis (21:59): I believe this picture was taken when I was twelve. I had begun training for my role as the prince’s retainer the year previously.

>>Prompto (22:02): Yikes dude

>>Ignis (22:03): Hm?

>>Prompto (22:04): Is that common in the city?

>>Prompto (22:04): Training for a job that young I mean

>>Ignis (22:06): The prince has been groomed since birth to become the future king.

>>Prompto (22:07): Well yeah

>>Prompto (22:08): That sounds pretty crummy too tbh

>>Prompto (22:09): I guess Cindy’s been working in the garage since she could hold a wrench

>>Prompto (22:10): But that was more like messing around

>>Prompto (22:10): Did you have to work a lot?

 

Ignis frowned, thinking on that as he returned to the car and made his way to his own apartment. He’d never thought of it as a problem before. His experience seemed much preferable to the schooling Noctis had endured.

He decided to simply change the subject when he returned to his phone after packing up his own clothing.

 

>>Ignis (22:40): I certainly don’t feel as though I was deprived of anything.

>>Ignis (22:41): On another note, will you be busy in the next few days?

>>Prompto (22:44): Nope! What's up?

>>Ignis (22:45): I do need to ask you to keep this to yourself, is that alright?

>>Prompto (22:46): Keep what to myself??

>>Ignis (22:48): I'm coming there.

>>Ignis (22:49): I'd like to see you. That is, if you want to meet me. If you'd rather not, I won't insist.

>>Prompto (22:55): You're coming to Hammerhead?

>>Ignis (22:57): Yes, for work. I and some others from the Citadel.

>>Prompto (22:58): Aren't you gonna be really busy?

>>Ignis (22:59): As I said, it's perfectly fine if you'd rather not meet.

>>Prompto (23:03): I want to! I'm sorry, I'm a jerk. I really want to see you. But is it really gonna be ok? When will you be passing through town? I’ll make sure I can get off work

>>Ignis (23:05): I'm afraid I can't give you more details at the moment. If the situation changes, I will let you know. I didn't want to show up unannounced.

 

He finished packing and set his and Noctis’s bags by the door. Now all there was left to do was wait until the morning.

 

*****


	5. Chapter 5

When Ignis arrived at the Citadel the next morning, Lunafreya and Noctis were already gathered around the king’s Regalia, dressed in the most casual clothes they could muster, apparently. Luna looked as though she’d walked out of a department store catalog, clothing tasteful but bland, a messenger bag on her shoulder. Noctis had a white shirt with metallic accents, white gloves, loose black jeans. The provenance of these items was completely unknown to Ignis.

It was strange to see the parking deck with so few cars, lit by the rising sun; cracks in the concrete and oil stains typically covered by darkness or vehicles made it seem like a different place. He felt as though they were meeting for some seedy plot.

Luna greeted him with a smile once he had parked the car and approached them with his and Noctis’s bags.

“Was there some problem getting the keys?” Ignis asked.

Noctis, mid-yawn, said, “Gladio’s bringing them. Dad said Clarus had them.”

They didn’t have long to wait before Iris came trotting up to them, a large pack on her back, Gladio trailing behind with his own pack in addition to a rolling suitcase decorated with polka-dots and stickers. He rolled his eyes when Ignis raised an eyebrow at him.

Noctis opened the door and flopped down into the back seat as soon as Gladio unlocked the car and passed the keys over to Ignis.

Iris had headed straight to Luna’s side and was bouncing the back on her back excitedly as she chattered at her about the music she planned to play for Luna during the car ride; apparently, this was a continuation of a conversation they had been having previously. Lunafreya nodded along, making diplomatic noises of interest.

“Why don’t you sit up front, Iris?” Ignis offered. He wasn’t sure how late they had been up the night before, having last-minute discussions with Regis, but Lunafreya looked like she needed some rest as much as Noctis did.

Iris looked excited in the second before Gladio cut in, “No way am I squeezing in back there with the lovebirds. Iris, you’re in the middle to keep an eye on ‘em.”

Lunafreya smiled, perhaps embarrassed; Iris stuck out her tongue at her older brother.

“Alright, now that we’ve figured that out, we can try to fit in all this junk,” Gladio said, ignoring her as he lifted up the suitcase and dropped it into the trunk.

“It’s not junk, it’s my crafts,” Iris declared, lunging forward and unzipping the suitcase, checking the contents and rearranging the bags of beads and fabric and who knew what else.

“It’s gonna sit in this car like junk,” Gladio said with the tone of someone who was repeating himself, but he arranged it in the trunk along with their other luggage all the same.

Exiting Insomnia went smoothly. Gladio was personally acquainted with the attendant—he had scoured the schedules the night before to ensure this would be the case—and he was able to get out of the car and talk the man into letting them through without a review of their documentation. Ignis didn’t know what story he gave. Maybe it was the truth. Regardless, the man opened the gate and let them through with a wave.

Once they hit the open road, Ignis set the cruise control and leaned his elbow on the open window. Certainly, no one seemed to have followed them out of the city. It seemed their plan was well on its way to working.

And they were headed toward Hammerhead, now. Toward Prompto. Would Prompto even like him? On the phone, he could be as generous and charming as he could imagine; in person, he was a stick in the mud, he could admit that. He just didn’t he would have to reveal that to Prompto so soon.

Ignis stifled a sigh. Whatever would happen, would happen.

He glanced in the rear view mirror. Noctis was dozing, mouth open, head slumped back against the corner of the seat and door. Iris and Lunafreya were bent over something; from their quiet conversation, it sounded as though Iris was attempting to explain how to download a certain phone game, and Luna was attempting to understand the story of it.

“But what will happen when Kenny collects all thirteen legendary fish?” she asked, in the same tone of voice Ignis had heard her use to discuss the safety of combining fire and lightning magic in a single magic flask.

“You have to find out!” Iris responded.

“What’s got you all gloomy?” Gladio asked Ignis, drawing his attention back to the front seat.

“I’m fine,” Ignis answered. He heard Gladio drumming his fingers on the door.

“Hm. Not nervous about going to Hammerhead?”

Ignis looked at him quickly, enough to see his grin. “What did Noctis tell you?”

“Nothin’. I saw the way you jumped when he said that’s where we’re going, though.”

“What’s in Hammerhead?” Iris asked, popping up between their seats.

“Seatbelt, Peaches,” Gladio said, idly pushing her back with a palm to her face. He didn’t press any further on the subject.

 

*****

 

It was later than they had wanted when they finally did arrive at Hammerhead—“You drive slow,” Noctis told Ignis—but the weather had cleared up. The midday sun was hot and insistent above them as they stepped out of the car, humidity letting the heat rest heavy on their bodies through their clothing.

Ignis had parked at the gas station. He went to the pump to refuel the car, but Noctis beat him to it, waving him away.

“Go ask if the courthouse is gonna be open,” Noctis told him as he lifted up the fuel pump.

Noctis wouldn’t make eye contact with him, so he just said, “Very well,” and walked to the storefront, his sweating palms having nothing to do with the heat.

The store was locked, Ignis discovered when he pulled on the door. A ‘ _Closed’_ sign hung beside it.

“Guess we gotta try the diner,” Gladio’s voice said behind him, making him jump. “Whoa, what’s got you all worked up?”

Ignis cleared his throat and straightened his cuffs. “Nevermind.” His gaze trailed to the mechanic’s shop next door to the convenience store, a huge structure with the name of the town erected on its roof. The garage door was wide open. “Perhaps… We should ask over there,” he said.

Luna and Iris were still at the car, sitting on its trunk and stretching their legs. As he looked over at them, Noctis shooed them off, then checked its surface for scratches while they laughed at him.

Gladio shrugged. “Yeah, alright.” He started off for the garage, but Ignis caught him by the shoulder.

“You ask at the diner,” Ignis told him. “I’ll ask at the garage.”

Gladio raised his eyebrows, but then smirked as though he’d figured something out. “Yeah, alright. Sure. You ask at the garage, Iggy.”

They parted ways, Ignis trying not to roll his eyes. He passed into the shadow of the garage, and approached its open entrance. Out front, an older gentleman was asleep in a lawn chair, snoring quietly.

Ignis skirted around him, peering into the dark interior of the garage, his eyes, accustomed now to the bright sun, slow to adjust.

He saw the flash of a handheld light from somewhere near the floor, and was starting to make out that there was a recessed pit underneath the car parked in the center of the garage; a person appeared to be down there, shining a light up at the undercarriage of the vehicle.

“Hello?” Ignis called.

“Who’s that?” A woman called from down below. ‘Prom! Can you see who’s there?”

“Yeah, I’m— Whoa!”  

Ignis spun around, squinting into the dimness. “Prompto?”

There he was, fumbling with a large, heavy-looking toolbox, attention clearly split dangerously between the box and Ignis.

“Let me—” Ignis leapt forward to assist; the lid of the box had come open, and it was a near thing that its contents hadn’t already spilled onto the concrete floor.

“Um. Hi.” Prompto said, once they had wrestled the box safely to the ground. “Ignis.” His hair was down, flat and pushed precariously back out of his eyes with no product. He must have been doing some work in the garage; his face and hands were smeared with oil, his clothes ragged.

Now that he had been out of the sun for some minutes, Ignis was able to see the deep blue of his eyes, the freckles and sun marks that mingled with the oil on his cheeks and nose.

“Hi,” Ignis said back, and the shy, slow smile that spread across Prompto’s face made the mass of nerves that had felt like a cluster of ice in his stomach all day begin to melt.

“What’s all the hubbub?” Cindy asked, coming up behind Ignis.

“Oh!” Prompto jumped to his feet, leaving the tool box behind. “Cindy, this is, uh, this is… Ignis. My friend.”

Ignis rose to his feet as well, and extended his hand to the woman.

Cindy wiped her hand on a rag at her hip and shook his hand. “Nice to see you back here, Mister Insomnia,” she said.

“I wouldn’t have expected you to remember me,” Ignis confessed.

“I never forget a face,” she said, planting her hands on her hips. “Plus, Prompto hasn’t quit yappin’ about you since you showed up.”  

Ignis looked to Prompto, whose eyes had become wide, alarmed. “Yes, well,” Ignis said, adjusting his glasses. “I’m sure I haven’t been much better.”

That seemed to please Cindy, and to embarrass Prompto even further, his cheeks turning a rather becoming pink color.

“Lookin’ for another fishing spot, then?” Cindy asked.

“Not exactly,” Ignis said, but before he could even begin to explain, he heard voices outside of the garage. The old man—the owner of the garage, Ignis presumed—seemed to have woken up. Ignis couldn’t make out the words, but he could hear the cadence of Gladio’s voice responding smoothly.

Noctis appeared, slipping around the corner of the garage, a grimace on his face. He brightened when he noticed the three of them

“Hey there,” Cindy said, tilting her head. “What y’all do to piss off Paw-Paw?”

“Beats me,” Noctis said. “Think he wants to impound our car. Gladio’s taking care of it,” he said before Ignis could open his mouth.”They’ll probably be best buds by nightfall.”

Cindy laughed. “This I gotta see. Paw-Paw hasn’t made a friend in about twenty years,” she said, trotting out of the garage.

Prompto drew closer to Ignis, glancing between them nervously.

“Hey,” Noctis said, grinning—the expression didn’t seem to put Prompto at ease. “I’ve seen your picture.”

Prompto looked at Ignis, mouth open, and Ignis slapped a heavy hand onto Noctis’s shoulder. “Prompto, this is Noctis.”

“You-you’re the… um. You’re Noctis?” Prompto asked him.

“Uh, yeah?” Noctis asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No need to bow, Prompto,” Ignis said, releasing Noctis’s shoulder with a warning squeeze.

“ _Should_ I be bowing?” Prompto squeaked.

Noctis clapped him on the back, making him stumble. “Hey, he said no need, right? We’re just normal guys. And girls. Wanna meet my friend Luna?”

“Luna… Lunafreya?”

“Yeah! C’mon.”

Ignis shook his head. While the rest of them socialized, at least he would have time to actually investigate the state of the civil facilities here.

 

*****

 

As it happened, the courthouse was closed for the day; the town judge, also a hunter, would be back from an expedition into the wilderness by the next morning. Ignis left a discreet message with the clerk, who promised to call him as soon as a wedding could be scheduled.

It meant they had the entire afternoon and evening to while away without drawing too much attention to themselves.

Ignis located the others in the diner once he was finished doing what he could to accomplish their mission. Cindy was squeezed into a booth with Lunafreya, Iris and Gladio; she seemed to have taken a liking to their group, and they to her.

“Where is… Noctis?” Ignis asked them.

Gladio pointed to the other end of the restaurant. “Found his place.”

Across the breakfast bar where the proprietor was cleaning glassware, Noctis and Prompto were bent over a pinball machine. Prompto was pointing at the surface of the machine, while Noctis nodded along.

“Miss Aurum said that Luna and me can sleep at her house tonight!” Iris announced, drawing Ignis’s attention back to the booth. “Isn’t that super nice?”

“That’s very generous,” Ignis agreed.

Cindy was leaning back in the booth, legs crossed, one arm on the seatback. “Happy to help out a wedding party. Ain’t no hotel ‘cept the caravan, anyway,” she said, handing him a key that had been sitting on the table. “You boy’s’ll have it bad enough with the three of you crammed in there.”

“Will you be able to meet your friend here, Ignis?” Lunafreya asked him as he pocketed the key.

Ignis hadn’t been aware she had been listening to that conversation in the car. His poker face failed him; he glanced over toward the pinball machines again.

By the soft smile on her face when he returned his attention to her, Luna had already been aware of the situation. “Go speak with him.”

He tried not to make his exit too quickly, to maintain his dignity after being dismissed that way, but when he rounded the curve of the counter, Prompto looked up at him and smiled; he nearly stumbled his last few steps there in a sudden haste.

“What’s up, Iggy?” Noctis asked, not looking up from the game, the machine rattling under his hands.

“I was wondering if Prompto would mind showing me to the caravan in town. We’ll need to rent it for the night.”

Noctis snorted. “Don’t get the sheets dirty.”

Ignis reached out and flipped the baseball cap off his head, onto the face of the pinball machine. Prompto stifled a laugh as the prince squawked in frustration and batted the hat to the ground, managing not to lose his ball in the process.

“Shall we?” Still feeling bold, Ignis extended a hand to Prompto.

He took it, his hand a little cold in Ignis’s; they left the diner together, the late afternoon breeze dry and warm on their faces.

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” Prompto said, just loudly enough to hear over the wind.

“Nor I,” Ignis said, twining their fingers together. Prompto’s hand was rough against his own, his fingers calloused, knuckles dry. Ignis briefly imagined himself laying with his arms around Prompto, chest to back, massaging lotion into the chapped skin. He cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t have dropped in on you with so little notice if it were up to me. I hope we haven’t caused you any trouble.”

Prompto pushed the hair back out of his face with his free hand, tilting his head. He wet his lips with his tongue, and although the action was probably an unconscious expression of nerves, it made Ignis shiver despite the warmth.

“I’m glad, however,” Ignis said. They had completed the short walk to the caravan, and stopped beside its entrance. Their hands fell away from each other. “I’m glad to see you.”

Prompto looked for a moment as though he didn’t know what to do with his hands, or his mouth. He settled on waving toward the caravan. “So, here’s this! It doesn’t look like much, but it’s pretty roomy inside. Oh! Fu— Er, frick! You gotta pay Takka first to get the key!” He started off for the diner, but Ignis stopped him.

“Wait. This key, right?” He pulled it from his pocket.

“Um, yeah! So, uh, I guess... you’re good.” He moved as if to turn and leave again, but stayed rooted to the spot, and Ignis felt his gaze as he finally unlocked the caravan and stepped up into it; he heard Prompto follow, boots clanging on the metal stairs.

“It’s nice enough,” Ignis said, keeping his voice casual. He only had a moment to look around the camper, taking in the small kitchen, bench-like cots, and the larger bed further down, before he felt a touch to his arm.

“Ignis,” Prompto said, hand curling gently around his arm. He was close, each individual eyelash and freckle distinct, eyes flickering as he studied Ignis’s face. He swallowed visibly, licked his lips again.

“Yes,” Ignis heard himself whisper, answer to nothing at all, before he bent down and Prompto leaned in and their lips met.

Prompto’s lips were soft and cool, but warmed quickly; Ignis pressed in closer, feeling the hint of sandpaper roughness of Prompto’s chin and upper lip against his skin, the edge of teeth on his tongue when he let it pass through their parting lips. The smell of him, soap and oil and dust and musk, filled Ignis’s senses, grounding him in the moment far beyond what he’d felt any of the times he had imagined Prompto’s body against his own.

Ignis’s hands, having come to rest on Prompto’s shoulders, began to wander. He wanted to run his palms over every different texture Prompto’s body had to offer. The ridges of the seams on his cotton shirt, the slight gooseflesh of his bare arms, the fine hairs there.

Prompto sighed against his mouth, eyes falling closed, head tilting when they drew apart and came together again. His own hands were gripping at Ignis’s shirt, slowly twisting the fabric at his hips; it would soon be completely untucked.

Stepping forward to back Prompto into the wall beside the door, Ignis slid his hands down to cover Prompto’s wrists, thinking to gently pin him there.

As soon as his fingers closed around Prompto’s wrists, though, Prompto jerked back, pulling his hands to his chest, shoulders up.

“What—what’s the matter?” Ignis asked, breath short.

“N-nothing,” Prompto said, twisting the sweatband around his wrist, eyes down.

Ignis stepped back, but Prompto reached for him again, pulling him in by the front of his shirt, looking him in the eye this time.

“I’m fine,” Prompto insisted, and, squeezing his eyes shut, covered Ignis’s mouth with his own once more.

Ignis let himself be kissed for a moment, watching Prompto’s face, cradling his stiff body. The grip on his shirt was heavy. He pulled his shirt free and stepped away after one final, close-mouthed kiss. “Let’s rejoin the others,” he said.

Prompto’s shoulders slumped. “Sure.”

They fixed their clothing and left the caravan. Ignis looked to the parked Regalia after stepping down onto the concrete. “I should unload our luggage.”

“Yeah, totally, go for it,” Prompto responded, throwing him finger-guns and grinning. “I’ll just, uh, go back to Takka’s.”

 

*****

 

By the time Ignis was done putting their luggage away and airing out the sheets in the caravan, the others had shown up and cajoled him into joining them around a firepit behind the garage for dinner as the sun went down. Gladio had procured foil packets of meat and potatoes from the diner owner, and was settling them into a bed of hot coals when Ignis arrived.

He accepted a cold beer from Cindy and settled into a chair next to her. He had to admit, it was a relief to not be the one preparing food, for once.

Cindy seemed content to stretch out her legs before the fire and watch the others, so Ignis did the same, relaxing back and enjoying the first few icy sips of his drink.

Luna and Noctis had pulled their chairs some distance away and were looking up at the stars as they revealed themselves in the encroaching night. Across the fire, Prompto was sitting on a log next to Iris. His attention appeared to be split between her explanation of doll making and shooting glances at Ignis when he thought he wasn’t looking.

After a few minutes, Ignis noticed Iris get up and flit over to help Gladio with the food. Prompto was still watching him and crinkling his own can of beer in his hands. Instead of coming over to talk to him, though, Prompto took out his phone and bent over it.

 

>>Prompto (17:42): I’m sorry I got so weird earlier

>>Ignis (17:45): You don’t need to apologize. I’m sorry I upset you.

>>Prompto (17:45): :(

 

Ignis put away his phone. He didn’t know why Prompto was texting him when he was only a few yards away.

Despite the lingering tension, Ignis found it easy enough to relax once everyone was gathered around the fire, chatting cheerfully, trading stories. Even Prompto seemed to be having a good time, which eased Ignis’s mind somewhat.

Gladio fished out one of the foil packets and opened it with a cloud of steam. When he declared the food ready and began to slide the packets onto paper plates to pass around, the others cheered.

“Maybe cooking ain’t so bad, if everyone gets this excited about it,” Gladio said, sinking into his chair with his own plate and basking in the praise.

“Whatever, it’s easy when you just have to throw crap into a fire,” Iris said around a mouthful of steaming meat. Gladio flicked a piece of onion at her in response.

Once they had eaten and lingered over their drinks quite late into the warm night, the group began to disperse. First Cindy pulled Lunafreya and Iris away, to show them where they would be sleeping, then Prompto also excused himself without much explanation, still not looking at Ignis.

Gladio, Noctis, and Ignis were left around the coals of the fire, Gladio crouching next to it, raking live coals out of the ashes to let them burn themselves out.

“Something go down between you and the blond kid?” he asked Ignis. “Kinda thought you two had a thing goin on.”

Noctis leaned forward in his chair, frowning. “What’d he do?”

Ignis immediately felt a flare of defensiveness on Prompto’s behalf. “Not a thing,” he said.

“Fine. What did you do, then?” Noctis asked, tapping his empty bottle against one knee.

“I don’t know,” Ignis admitted, taking off his glasses and looking up at the sky. He couldn’t see any stars, anyway, his vision dark from looking into the fire for so long. He wasn’t going to kiss and tell, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to seek advice. “I fear I may have offended him in some way.”

“Did you, I don’t know, apologize?” Noctis asked.

“Of course I did. But I don’t want to make the same mistake again, and I just… I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“You gotta ask him,” Gladio said, standing up and brushing ashes off of his pants.

Asking didn’t help when Prompto seemed so committed to not answering. “I won’t make him tell me something he doesn’t want to share.”

“I didn’t say tie him up and torture him. I said ask him. What’s the big deal?”

Ignis raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll ask again,” he promised.

“Good. I don’t wanna see you overthinking yourself into a pit again,” Gladio said.

“I… What? I don’t _overthink_ , Gladio.” Ignis considered himself to be a person who took decisive action precisely when it was necessary.

Gladio and Noctis exchanged a look that didn’t escape his notice.

“Anyway,” Noctis said, “All Gladio means is, you should try to make up with Prompto while we’re still here, if that’s what you wanna do. He seems cool. We hung out some earlier.”

Once the fire had been fully extinguished and they were back at the caravan, Ignis sat on the edge of the double bed, phone in his hand.

 

>>Ignis(22:41): I don’t like to pry, but I have to ask again what it was that made you uncomfortable when we were alone earlier. Was I moving too fast for you?

>>Ignis(22:43): I realize now I never found out what kind of experience you have. It makes no difference to me, but if this is new territory for you, please let me know.

>>Prompto (22:48): No dude I’m not a virgin!!

>>Ignis (22:50): A bad experience, then?

>>Prompto (22:55): No

>>Prompto (22:55): Nothing like that

>>Ignis (22:58): I understand if there are things you’d rather not tell me, or if you have trouble speaking of it, but I hope you understand that I can’t avoid upsetting you if you can’t tell me what my mistake was.

 

He waited, but there was no response to this, so he shut down his phone and climbed into bed next to Noctis, who was already snoring quietly into his pillow. Despite it being the eve of his wedding, Noctis seemed to be having a much easier time sleeping than Ignis.

 

*****


	6. Chapter 6

Ignis was still on edge the next morning. As predicted, he hadn’t slept well the night before; the unfamiliar night sounds of country, combined with Gladio’s snoring and Noctis’s sleeptalking were easy to blame, but in truth, he had managed to block out most of that, only to spend much of the night staring at the dark ceiling of the caravan and worrying, not about the upcoming wedding or about the political situation in Insomnia, but about Prompto.

Gladiolus had advised him to talk to Prompto about what had upset him, but Prompto wasn’t like Gladio, wasn’t even like Noctis, either of whom were accustomed to refusing unwelcome demands. As it turned out, he was instead the type of person who would try to continue a sexual encounter even while deeply uncomfortable, and the realization disturbed Ignis.

How many times had he upset Prompto like that, only to be assured there was no problem?

Although Gladio had dragged them out at the crack of dawn for a run to ‘ _work off those beers_ ,’ Ignis still found himself brimming with nervous energy once they had returned to the caravan and settled down to wait for news from the court.

Gladio and Noctis were playing cards at the plastic table just outside the caravan while Ignis paced around, eyes skimming the parking lot and road for a distraction.

Noctis threw a cluster of cards down onto the stack in the middle of the table. “Ignis, sit down,” he said, not looking up.

“You’re sure there’s no more paperwork needed for the marriage?” Ignis asked.

“I don’t know, I’m just here to sign a paper and kiss a girl, right?”

“Nothin’ to do til the court opens,” Gladio said. “Sorry, Iggy.”

Noctis placed his last card down triumphantly and then looked up at Ignis. “If you’re so bored, make a cake or something.”

“Yeah, we dragged our asses out here for a wedding, and what’s a wedding without cake, right?” Gladio said, gathering up the spent cards and shuffling them.

It was better than nothing, so he agreed, and headed to Cindy’s house, as the most likely place to find a kitchen he could use.

When Cindy opened the door, the first thing Ignis heard was a clatter, a flash of blond hair in the room within dashing out of his vision. He frowned for a moment after the spot Prompto had disappeared from—it had to have been him, because Lunafreya was visible beyond, yawning behind a cup of coffee.

“Good morning to you, too,” Cindy said right in front of him, waving to get his attention.

“My apologies,” Ignis told her, and explained his request to use her kitchen.

She grimaced. “If you’re tryin’ to make a cake, Paw-Paw’s kitchen ain’t the best. Pretty sure the oven’s been out of gas for about a year. But Takka doesn’t open the diner til noon in the summer. Lemme give him a call.”

She didn’t invite him in, so he stayed at the doorway as she called the diner owner and got him permission.

It was a brief phone call, and when she hung up she flashed him a grin and a thumbs-up. “All yours, mister.” She told him the combination to enter the building. After he thanked her, she leaned forward and tapped his arm conspiratorially. “And don’t worry about Prom. He’s just worked himself up into a tizzy. I’ll send him your way, y’hear?”

“Oh,” Ignis said, surprised at the relief that was flooding his own chest. “Thank you, yes. I would—I would greatly appreciate that.”

Takka’s Diner did turn out to have a fully stocked kitchen. It felt odd to be letting himself into an empty place of business, rooting through the cabinets and food stores, fiddling with the large, bulky oven, but it was a nice place to work, with large, clean counters and plenty of light from the large windows.

The ingredient selection was somewhat limited, which made sense considering what he knew of supply lines into the small town, so he decided to make a simple orange cake. Noctis and Luna would have plenty of fancy, involved desserts once they were returned to Insomnia and the formal ceremony could be rescheduled.

It wasn’t until he’d already prepared the batter for the cakes that Cindy’s promise came true; a bell rang out from the front door, which Ignis had left unlocked, and Prompto slid into the diner.

“Hey,” he said, coming around the bar into the kitchen area.

Ignis simply nodded, afraid of scaring him away again.

Prompto hiked himself up onto an empty counter, which Ignis doubted Takka would have approved of. They shared the quiet for several moments, while Ignis finished stirring the batter and Prompto tapped his heels against the cabinet below him.

“It’s stupid,” Prompto said, finally, once Ignis had set the pans into the oven.

“I’ve never minded you telling me stupid things before,” Ignis said, trying for a gentle smile.

At least Prompto snorted at that. He bowed his head, looking down at his hands on his knees. “I just wish I could spit it out so that you won’t drop me.”

Ignis fumbled with the whisk and bowl he was taking out to make syrup. “Drop you?”

“You wouldn’t even look at me after we left the caravan,” Prompto said quietly.

“Prompto, I– I’m so sorry.” He set the cooking items down and stepped closer to where Prompto was sitting on the counter, reaching out to touch his back; he leaned into the touch, letting himself be embraced, and Ignis felt even guiltier. “I didn’t mean to ignore you. I didn’t mean to… to make you feel as though you had to reveal something you didn’t want to in order to continue our relationship.”

Ignis brushed his fingers through the short hair at the base of Prompto’s skull, careful to avoid mussing the styled front. He remembered Gladio’s advice again: _I’m not saying to torture him, just ask_. It seemed that avoiding him had been its own kind of torture.

“That’s precisely the opposite of what I wanted,” Ignis continued. “I thought I was giving you space, but I fear I was just too cowardly to risk offending you further.”

Prompto put up a hand to push him away, but he was smiling when they parted. “Dude, you didn’t offend me, it’s just…” He was fiddling with his sweatband again. “I wanted to tell you in person, but it’s…”

“You don’t have to tell me anything,” Ignis emphasized. He remembered how Prompto had texted him instead of speaking with him the night before. “But, if you do want to, you can tell me by text if that would make it easier.”

He laughed, a genuine laugh this time. “That’s okay?” When Ignis nodded, he dug his phone out of his pocket, then glanced up. “You can’t just stand there and watch me, though, okay?”

Ignis returned to the task of making an orange syrup to moisten the cake, gathering ingredients and tools. When his phone began to vibrate with incoming messages, he moved to take it out, but Prompto stopped him with a word.

“Wait, don’t look! Uh, until I’m done.”

“Certainly.”

Prompto’s anxiety permeated the large room; Ignis could sense him fidgeting, sighing, starting and stopping at his phone. Finally, he let out a huff and set his phone down, hiding his face in his hands. Ignis took it as permission to finally read what he had sent.

 

>>Prompto (10:11): I really liked making out with you

>>Prompto (10:12): I really like you

>>Prompto (10:14): I didn’t want you to find out I’m such a mess but you figured it out in one second of course

>>Prompto (10:17): I’m so dumb

>>Prompto (10:17): I got weird because you touched my wrist

>>Prompto (10:18): And

>>Prompto (10:18): I thought

>>Prompto (10:18): You were gonna move my bracelet

 

It hadn’t even occurred to Ignis that the sweatband that he wore all the time might be covering something up, but now it all made sense; part of Ignis relaxed. He hadn’t been too aggressive, he hadn’t repulsed Prompto. He’d simply triggered something he couldn’t have been aware of.

“I've got a tattoo there,” Prompto said aloud, face uncovered now, but still looking down, hands clasped between his legs.

Ignis hadn’t expected any further explanation. “Something you regret?” he asked, surprised.

“It… Yeah. I don't remember getting it.” He glanced at Ignis’s face and explained, “I've had it for as long as I can remember. Since I was, um, a baby, I guess. It kind of scares the crap out of me. I don't like to look at it.” He shrugged and laughed, a little high-pitched.

The timer Ignis had set for the cakes chimed, and Prompto hopped down off the counter.

“Is it done?” He asked in a cheerful voice, peering into the oven.

Ignis hesitated for a moment, then took up the oven mitts he had found and pulled out one of the cakes to test it.

“Sweet,” Prompto said when the tester Ignis inserted came out clean. “What’s next? Er, if you don’t mind me helping?”

“Not at all,” Ignis said, finding his voice.

The work went faster with Prompto’s help; he seemed somewhat familiar with the diner’s kitchen.

“I help out Takka sometimes if there’s a big group of tourists or something,” he explained when he returned from the food storage with an armful of the ingredients Ignis had requested. He leaned on the counter and watched quietly as Ignis mixed frosting for the cakes.

Ignis wasn’t sure what to say, wasn’t sure what to think of Prompto’s revelation. He certainly had more questions, but he didn’t know how much of that Prompto would tolerate.

Prompto scratched the back of his head when Ignis set down his whisk. “About my… thing. I’ve only really told Cindy. She says I should just cover it up with some other tattoo.” He rubbed at his eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”

“May I see it?” Ignis asked. There was no harm in asking, right?

Prompto paled visibly, pressing his lips together. Just when Ignis was about to retract his request, he nodded. “Yeah, um. Yeah. You… Yeah. I should show you.”

Part of Ignis wanted to assure him that it wasn’t necessary, but he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t curious. He watched as Prompto looked at his wrist for a moment, then worked the terrycloth band off of it.

He had a tan line there, as Ignis had expected; the skin underneath was soft and pink. Ignis took his hand, limp and trembling in his own, and turned it over, looking for a sign of what could be so terrible.

Oh. That was rather terrible.

There was a barcode tattooed onto the back of Prompto’s wrist. Although the lines and numbers bold and black, Ignis could believe it was as old as Prompto claimed, evidenced in a slightly blurriness around the edges and a few small stretch marks breaking up the blocks of ink.

Prompto pulled his hand away and scratched at the mark as though it itched; as though he wanted to claw it off, maybe. “So… So there you go. That’s… what I have. That’s what I am, I guess. I don’t know.”

The bell of the diner door chimed, and Gladio entered. “Hey, you two behaving in here?”

Prompto pulled his wrist band back on, startled, and looked to Ignis as Gladio slid onto a stool at the bar.

“Is there something you need help with, Gladiolus?”

“Nah. Just thought I’d let you know the judge is back in town to do the wedding shit.”

Ignis frowned. “The clerk was meant to call me.”

“I told her don’t worry about it. Figured you’d be busy with blondie.” He eyed Prompto. “You okay, kid?”

“Fine,” Prompto said quickly.

Ignis, who waved a hand at Gladio’s raised eyebrow. “We’re having a private conversation.”

Gladio rolled his eyes and slapped the table, standing up. “Fine, wouldn’t wanna interrupt. Noct said to tell you we’ve got enough witnesses, so we can go ahead without you.”

Prompto made a noise of negation, but Ignis was already saying, “That will be fine.”

“It that really okay?” Prompto asked him. “You don’t want to be there?”

“You wanna come?” Gladio said to Prompto, who blanched under his attention and shook his head.

“You can do whatever you like, Prompto,” Ignis told him. “But I’d be happy for you to stay here and help me finish this up. Your assistance has been invaluable.”

Prompto smiled at that, rubbing the back of his head. “I didn’t really do that much… But, um. Sure, I’ll stay, if that’s cool.”

Seeming satisfied that it would be okay to leave them alone, Gladio exited the diner with a wink and a wave. The sound of the bell faded to a heavy silence after he was gone.

“I, um, can go, though,” Prompto said. “If you want.”

“Please don’t,” Ignis said. There were so many things he wanted to say—how it didn’t change his opinion of Prompto that someone had put a tattoo on him before he could even remember, how there was no way he would judge Prompto harshly for something like that, how grateful he was that Prompto had shown himself to Ignis in this way, how brave and touching the gesture was. “I want you to stay,” he said instead.

Prompto blinked at him, hesitation plain in his face and body, so Ignis cleared his throat and tried again.

“I like you, too,” he said.

“Huh?” Prompto asked.

“In your text message. You said you like me. I don’t think I’ve ever said it to you, though. What you just showed me… It only increases my respect for you. I like you a great deal.” He was blushing, now, stumbling through his confession, falling back on stiff and formal language. “I do hope that’s alright. And… I’d like your help finishing this cake, as well. So, stay. Please.”

Prompto began to laugh, and Ignis fussed with his own rolled-back cuffs. He didn’t mind being laughed at, though, if it eased Prompto’s distress.

When he finished laughing, Prompto was smiling at him, and there was only the softest edge of teasing in his voice when he said, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s alright.” He turned back to the counter and clapped his hands. “Alright, let’s make a wedding cake!”

They prepared the frosting and garnishes; Ignis even found some decorative tips for applying the icing in the back of one cluttered cabinet.

“You guys are kinda different than how people talk about Insomnians,” Prompto remarked, looking out the windows in the direction of the court house. His voice still sounded somewhat weak, but Ignis appreciated that he was trying to reestablish a casual conversation.

“How’s that?” Ignis asked, checking the temperature of the cooling cakes.

Prompto shrugged. “You’re all, you know. Pretty easy-going, I guess.”

“We’re not all in gangs, after all,” Ignis said.

Prompto grinned, abashed.

“You should come.” Ignis set the first cake round onto a platform for decorating.

“Huh?”

“Come to Insomnia. You’ve wanted to visit, haven’t you? You could stay with me.”

“Can I kiss you?” Prompto stood up straighter.

Ignis wiped his hands and drew Prompto into his arms. “Please do.”

“Do you really mean it?” Prompto asked, before their lips could touch.

“Of course. You can kiss me anytime,” Ignis teased.

Prompto stuck out his tongue, and Ignis closed the gap to kiss him. His lips and tongue softened immediately and they kissed deeply, but only for a moment. Ignis broke away to look Prompto in the eyes. His blue eyes wavered, blinking rapidly, as though he was unused to prolonged eye contact. He closed his eyes and sighed as Ignis brushed a few stray hairs behind his ear.

“I’d love for you to come visit me,” Ignis murmured, heart pounding because part of him wanted to offer much more than just a visit. “I’m going to miss you.”

 

*****

  


~Epilogue~

 

“Oh em gee, the walk sign is a cactuar! _That_ is the cutest shit I’ve ever seen in my life!” Prompto declared fiercely, taking a picture of the light across the intersection.

It was a lovely day for Prompto’s first morning in Insomnia: it had rained the night before, and now the sky was clear between skyscrapers, the pavement damp and cool and cleaner than usual.

Noctis had ordered Ignis to take the entire day off, and although he knew he couldn't allow the prince to indulge him many more times, Ignis couldn't pretend to be anything but grateful as he let Prompto lead him down the sidewalk, ecstatic and in awe of everything from the towering buildings to the street vendors to the traffic signs.

The rain had brought in an early chill, and Prompto hadn’t packed for a weekend of near-freezing temperatures. As a result, he was bundled up in one of Ignis’s cream-colored overcoats, a wool scarf and hat, gloves hastily shoved into a pocket so that he could snap photos, despite having purposefully left his camera back at Ignis’s apartment.

Prompto lowered his phone and glanced at Ignis. “Sorry, am I embarrassing you?”

“Hardly. I was just thinking that you wear my clothing better than I do.”

Prompto smoothed the collar down. “Come now, it’s nothing special,” he said, in a surprisingly good imitation of Ignis’s voice and inflection.

Ignis laughed and pulled him close, pressing his nose into the bit of exposed blond hair between hat and scarf. “I love you,” he murmured. It wasn’t the first time he had said it, but it still caught in his throat and came out hoarse.

He felt Prompto’s arm curl around his waist, his hand grasp the back of his sweater. “I love you, too.”

 

*****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading <3!!!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr at jumpsoap (main) or windycockslap (nsfw), as well as kik at windycockslap. Feel free to send me a message, I'd love to hear what you think! Criticism and critique are welcome.


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